Who Is Your Lover?
by corruptedPOV
Summary: The world is an ugly place when your parents hate your boyfriend, especially when they'll do anything to stop you being together.
1. Chapter 1

Prologue:

"Harry, are you seeing anybody at the moment?" Dad made me freeze in the middle of eating dinner.

"Oh what have the tabloids being saying now? You shouldn't believe a word they say." I waved it off, holding in an internal cringe. I _hated_ not being able to talk to my parents about what was really going on in this band, hated having to lie to them constantly. But I saw no way to actually tell them, they barely allowed me being in a band, saying it wasn't proper for someone from our family, especially with the 'sort' my band mates came from. I just had to lie, leave it as just being friends.

"You should know by now that I don't read tabloids, horrid things they are. But I do watch your interviews; you're awfully close to... Douglas, that's his name, right?" Dad continued, oh _sh*t._

"It's Dougie, and that's because we're friends. He's a little nervous about things, you know? It's been four years, and he's still scared as ever about going out in public, so I give him a bit of protection, that's all." I lied, _what had he seen? Oh God, what had Dad seen of me and Dougie? He certainly hadn't seen us kiss, we'd been careful, but what_ _ **had**_ _he seen?_ I had to lie, had to lie as much as physically possible.

"Four years should be enough time to get over stage fright. If he's that scared, maybe he shouldn't be in a band." Mum joined in scornfully.

"Dougie loves it, he just gets scared, that's all. He loves making music and playing shows, he just, he just isn't quite sure of himself." I defended him, why did they have to be like this? Why did they have to look for reasons for our band to break up? Were they _that_ desperate for me to be 'normal' and 'respectable?' because I didn't want to be, I wanted to be in a band, I wanted to be myself and play music, not become a doctor or a lawyer, or whatever the hell my parents wanted for me.

"I wouldn't be either, just look at how he acts! It's not at all polite, or sensible. It's almost like he was raised by wolves!" Mum said this at least once while I was down for a visit.

"And that isn't without talking about his clothes! Good lord, what does he think he's wearing, with all those bracelets and necklaces, shorts in the winter too! What kind of self respecting boy wears all that at nineteen?" Dad agreed.

"And those tattoos! How many is that now, _four?_ He'll regret those when he's older, that's for sure." Mum continued, "How many do your other band mates have, there's another three on top, isn't there? I hope you never get a tattoo Harry, you're far too respectable to do something so stupid."

"Maybe they _like_ having tattoos and dressing that way, and maybe they act like they do because they enjoy it and it's just the way they are. There's nothing wrong with anything my band mates do, it's all perfectly normal." I growled, wishing the subject would just get _dropped._ It was impossible to wish for some acceptance around here, but at the very least my parents could respect my wishes and my friends, instead of finding ways to tear everything to pieces.

"If that's normal then I hate to think what counts as abnormal to them! I hope you don't pay any attention to what they do, and certainly don't join in with their ridiculous antics. My youngest son will not be seen as a juvenile delinquent because of the stupid things his friends do. It's bad enough that you're even _in_ a band instead of finishing school and going out to get a respectable job, but to also join in with those ridiculous games of theirs? Oh, I don't think I could handle it!" Mum made my blood boil.

"I'll have you know that my band mates and _best friends_ are very respectable and talented people. They are not juvenile delinquents, and in fact are very nice people, if you ever bothered to spend any time with them, instead of judging from afar."

Is what I _would_ have said if I was feeling brave enough, instead I took a calming breath, and forced myself to remain calm.

"May I be excused? I have a phone call to make." Was what I actually said, not waiting for a reply, leaving the table with my half full plate still hot. I wasn't hungry anymore; I never was when it came to staying at my parent's house. They were always so _horrid_ about my friends and my profession, and I hated them more and more with every passing minute. And they thought that we were just my friends, if they knew what was really going on, that me and Dougie were lovers... my God, I dreaded to think what would happen.


	2. Chapter 2

**IamaHobbit - thank you! :D**

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1 Dougie's POV

"Hey, how was visiting your parents?" I asked as Harry got out of his car, he did _not_ look happy, "Bad again?"

"Just as bad as usual, _Harry you better not be involved in such stupidity, Harry your band mates are a bad influence, Harry why can't you be normal?_ And what's worse is that they're starting to suspect something between us. I managed to put them off, playing our closeness off as you being scared of interviews, but I don't know how long I'll manage to push that one on them before they suspect something." Harry sighed, pulling me in close for a hug.

"I'm sorry Harry." I hugged him back, not sure what else to say, it had all been said before. All of it had been said a hundred times over - don't listen to your parents they're being ridiculous, you're parents don't understand us but they will if they gave all of us a chance, they'll get used to this soon. It had been four whole years of being in a band, and yet Harry's parents _still_ didn't like their precious youngest son being in a band, and me, Tom and Danny even less. Just because we weren't as posh as they were, it didn't mean we weren't worth _something._

"I know, it's not your fault. Honestly though, I have no idea what we're going to do, they're going to end up figuring all this out soon, and I don't even want to think about what they'll do then." Harry bit his lip, running his hands up and down my arms.

"I don't know either, but we will think of something if they react badly. For now though, just... we'll just continue like always. There isn't much else we can do." I sighed, as thundering footsteps clattered down the stairs.

"Harry! There you are mate! Parents still being rude I take it?" Danny jumped down the last three steps.

"Basically, but did we really expect something different from them? They're not exactly ones to change their minds without reason, or even with reason." Harry answered, leaning against the wall in defeat.

"I guess not. But try to not let them get you down; they don't understand any of this. As soon as they actually see how happy you are in this band, they'll change their minds, just like Dan's parents." Tom encouraged, leaning his chin on Danny's shoulder. They had had some trouble at the beginning of their relationship, as in, Danny's parents had not approved of their son being in a relationship with another man, and it had gotten really quite ugly. But after they saw how much their actions were hurting their son, and how happy Tom made him in contrast, they had had started tolerating the idea. Now they weren't exactly _happy_ about it, but they were getting there, in their own time.

"Somehow I don't think they are going to come round to this whole thing. It's been four years, and they still refuse to believe that you're anything but bad influences, and that I'm wasting my life doing this. They've watched interviews, seen gig clips, and yet they still can't accept this. I somehow don't think they're going to suddenly change my mind, even if I start having anxiety attacks. And that isn't even counting in this." Harry waved our joined hands together, "I think it's going to have to be a case of ignoring their sniping forever I'm afraid."

"I would suggest that we talk to them, but I doubt that would do anything but get a door slammed in our faces." Tom sighed, sidling somehow closer to Danny's body.

"Oh definitely, no doubt about that." Harry agreed, "But let's not think about that right now, tell me how your family trips were."

"Oh Mum's still asking after you, as is my Nan, she wants to meet my 'handsome young man' for the second time as she put it." I jumped to bring it up, having almost forgotten. My Mum and Nan had nearly adopted Harry the minute he walked through their front door years ago, but they had only officially met him as my boyfriend once, at my birthday nearly two years ago. Since then they hadn't seen him, as Harry's parents almost insisted on him coming back to theirs whenever we had more than a few days off in a row. It meant that he never got time to see my family too, despite how much they insisted, and it quite frankly sucked. Especially when it meant I got my arm twisted about it every time I went down there.

"Oh your Nan thinks I'm handsome does she?" Harry raised an eyebrow, smile starting to come back to his face.

"Yeah she does, I'm not sure why, I don't see it myself." I teased.

"Dougie! I am offended, you think I'm ugly!" Harry put his hand on his chest, mock hurtful look on his face.

"Well I have seen you first thing in the morning, with the bed hair and the drool, pillow stuck to your face. It's kinda disturbing." I laughed as the look turned from mock hurt to mock offended.

"You little sod, I'm going to get you back for that!" Harry raced off as I ran away up the stairs, chasing me round the top of the shared band house, laughing hysterically as he did so. Completely against what his parents wished for him, but f*ck them, they couldn't see how _happy_ he was here, and how unhappy he was with them.

He _loved_ being here, doing this, being able to be himself. If they couldn't see what this meant to them, then they were stupid. I was more than happy to provide all of Harry's happiness and give him all the love he deserved.


	3. Chapter 3

2 Harry's POV

"Dougie, tell me how we got together." I whispered in his bare chest, tracing the outlines of the new tattoo on his right pectoral muscle.

"You know that story, you were there." Dougie poked my shoulder, his free hand trapped under his head.

"I know, I just like hearing it, especially after a tough weekend." I liked to hear it again, because Dougie told it wonderfully, it always cheered me up.

"Alright. Well it all started at that fateful audition all those years ago, where you were hiding in that cafe with your brother, having snuck out of boarding school to audition for a drumming role. I was first in the queue across the street, and you laid eyes on me and thought I was the hottest piece of ass you had ever seen in your life." Dougie paused as I giggled, "Then I saw you, and thought that _you_ were a model or something, even with that ridiculous haircut you had." He ruffled my hair.

"Boarding school rules, short back and sides, nice and neat at all times." I commented with a small smile.

"I know, still glad you grew it out a bit, even if that mullet did look awful. I still miss the Mohawk though." Dougie sighed wistfully, " _Anyway,_ before I was interrupted, I saw you and you saw me, and eventually you came over to join the queue. I noticed you were wearing a green Starting Line t-shirt, and so I decided to try and talk to you, despite the fact that I was sh*tting myself. And _you_ brushed me off because you were just as nervous as I was, as well as panicking about being found out about skipping school for a band audition. Then yada yada, we went through the auditions, I threw up, we both got in, we moved in together, Tom and Danny ran off to Disneyland Florida with James and Charlie because Tom is a Disney nerd and apparently that's how you spend your eighteenth birthday in style according to him. Which left us alone together in the house for two weeks. And after we unpacked our stuff, we only had to rehearse for a few hours a day, leaving about twenty other free hours to get to know each other." Dougie started smirking down at me.

"And soon you realised just how much you wanted my hot piece of ass, and so started coming in my room to talk to me about Blink 182, almost like you were trying to win me over through music. Which is totally the way to do it by the way, you give me Blink and I'll jump you right there and then. But I'm going off topic, you were always charming and lovely with me, talking about music, asking about my lizards, always making sure that I didn't feel alone or left out. Which was when I fell for you a bit more, and after months of sexual tension build up, we got caught in the moment when we found out Room On The Third Floor had gone number one in the album charts and kissed. The rest they say is history." Dougie finished, though continued to stroke patterns over my back.

"Hmm, such a romantic story." I kissed his chest, wrapping my arm around his waist and pulling him closer.

"One for the ages, they'll be telling our story for years to come, in books and movies and whatever weird new thing they come up with in the year 3000." Dougie giggled, he was always so beautiful when he giggled. His laugh was one of my favourite sounds.

"Oh totally, they'll _never_ stop telling this story." I teased, leaning up to kiss him, just as my phone vibrated.

"If that's Tom or Danny trying to ruin the mood I will shoot them with the paintball guns as they sleep." I grumbled, leaning over to grab my phone.

"What?" I answered the call, not bothering to check who was ringing.

"That's no way to talk to your mother Harry!" Mum chastised, oh _f*ck._

"Mum! Sorry, I didn't check the caller ID, I was sleeping." I scrambled to sit upright, pretending that I hadn't just been lying on top of Dougie for the past hour, like Mum could see me through the phone.

"Well that's still no excuse! You should never answer the phone like that!" Mum lectured, I resisted rolling my eyes.

"What does she want?" Dougie mouthed, knowing better than to even _breathe_ loudly if my parents were on the phone.

"Sorry, it won't happen again... So mind me asking what you're calling for? You don't usually phone past nine." I shrugged to Dougie, keeping my tone sleepy, but polite.

"It better not young man. But I was phoning to tell you that your father and I have been talking," oh this would _not_ be good, "And you seemed so upset this weekend when we were talking about your band mates," oh _sh*t,_ do not be suggesting what I'm thinking you're suggesting please, "So we may have been a bit... _hasty_ in dismissing your colleagues so quickly. How about if they come down to ours soon, so we can all have a sit down and a proper chat, get to know each other finally. Then we'll know if they're good enough for you."

She _had_ to be kidding.


	4. Chapter 4

**Guest - there certainly isn't, there needs to be more of it in the world!**

 **\- thank you! And I certainly intend on keeping this up, you couldn't drag me away no matter how hard you tried!**

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3 Dougie's POV

"What do you mean she wants us to come over?! She can't want us to come over, that's like... it's completely out of the blue! There has to be something up with this!" I near-shouted after Harry explained to me what he had been talking about with his Mum.

"There's no doubt that there's something up with this, but she seems insistent. Her and Dad actually want to meet you guys." Harry fiddled with his phone nervously, chewing on his lip.

"Guys, what's up with all the shouting?" Tom came in, still yanking down a t-shirt (Danny's) over his chest, clearly just rolled out of bed.

"Harry's parents want us to go to their house to meet officially!" I blurted, feeling so much pent up confusion and worry starting to push through. This couldn't be good, this _didn't_ happen, as in, _ever._ Harry parents, they just _didn't_ ask to see us, they didn't talk to us at all. They didn't even hang out back stage before a show, or come to anybody else's family BBQs, despite the fact that we invited them time and time again. They just did not dare interact with us, and _now_ they were? _Now_ they wanted to come and talk?

"It's a trap; it has to be some sort of trap. Why else would they suddenly want to come and talk? It's never, it's _never_ happened; they weren't showing any sign of wanting to actually talk this weekend either, were they?" I turned to Harry, who shook his head.

"No, they were still as rude as ever. And I didn't say anything to make them want to change their minds. It's not something they generally do unless you give them no other choice, and I didn't say anything about it. But apparently they now want to meet you guys, have a dinner round theirs and everything." Harry gave us all a pleading look, like we knew what to do.

"Sh*t. Sounds like we're really walking into a trap or something, cause no parent suddenly changes their mind like that unless someone talked them round." Danny stumbled in, apparently having heard the entire conversation from down the hall... Not that hard to believe actually, I had been shouting.

"And my parents _certainly_ don't change their minds without some serious digging." Harry chewed on his lip for a few seconds, "But can we really say no? This may be a chance to get them on our side and stop all this pretentious cr*p they're pulling. It could show them that you aren't the hooligans or whatever they think you are, and that you are decent people, which could only be a good thing."

"I don't know Harry, it would be good to finally settle the score here, but at the same time, do we really want to risk making their perception of us worse? How we'd do that I don't know, as we would all naturally be on our best behaviour, but we could somehow change their views on us for the worst. Would it be worth risking that?" Tom asked, pulling Danny's hand away from his mouth, so he didn't start biting his nails.

"I really don't think that's possible." Harry sighed.

"What would we be risking though? If we said no, or if we make an even worse impression on them? What are we risking here? They can't stop you from being in this band anymore, you're twenty one." I asked, because really, what could they do? They couldn't order Harry home, he was an adult now, they couldn't bring him home and keep him there.

"I don't know, I don't really think there is anything, apart from a tonne of shouting and arguments. But that's normal, there was that when I even dared tell them that I wanted to be in a band, so it's not like I can't handle a few more arguments." Harry sighed again, looking so conflicted, all I wanted to do was wrap him in my arms and promise to take all this away. I _hated_ seeing him look like this, so conflicted and confused, my Harry shouldn't have felt conflicted over bringing us home to meet his parents for the first time. Especially when we had done nothing wrong.

"We don't want to make the situation with your parents any worse though." Danny squeezed Harry's shoulder.

"I know, but, I guess if they decide that they can't stand you, then that's their fault isn't it? I can't stop them, and they're the ones with the problem, they will just have to accept who my friends are. I'm not quitting this band, or you guys in general, just because my parents are too posh to accept you." Harry made his resolve, tightening his hand around mine.

"Are you sure about that? Cause cr*ppy parents aren't good, you know? It hurts a lot, and takes a lot out of you. Maybe it's best not to rock the boat." Danny was speaking from experience. His anxiety attacks had been truly awful to witness. He'd been so shaken up by practically getting disowned he'd been like a ghost, barely making a sound, constantly looking ill.

"No, I think we should give this a chance, see what they have to say for themselves. If they don't accept you, it's their doing, and I won't be able to change that. But I won't stand by and watch them badmouth you all day long anymore, you guys come home with me, and my parents are going to like you. If they don't, I'll deal with that later. For now, let's just see what they have to say, and focus on getting them to like you." Harry shook his head, getting that determined look on his face that said he wasn't taking no for an answer this time round. He'd made up his mind, he was sticking to it.


	5. Chapter 5

**Sorry it's been a while, Christmas got in the way and my essays are kicking my ass right now! I'm back for now though!**

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4 Harry's POV

For an entire week, I spent every spare minute telling the boys how to behave in front of my parents. They weren't stupid, but I wanted this all to go well so _badly,_ that I felt the desperate need to tell them everything I could possibly think of to make sure this ran smoothly.

 _Don't talk with your mouthful, don't swear, rude jokes are a no-go area, no talk of our fireworks shows on Fireworks Night, or any of our more dangerous or stupid adventures. Dress smartly, not suits because that'll look suspicious, but nicely. Nice, clean clothes that was reasonably new with no holes in. For God's sake shower and style your hair beforehand. Polite and respectfulness was a given, but up our usual level a bit, like we're talking to the management heads._

The boys understood my worry and told me not to worry, but I couldn't help it, I was _terrified_ as to how this was going to go. My parents were so _judging_ all the time, and I wanted them to like everybody, especially Dougie. My God I needed them to like Dougie, he meant everything to me, if they didn't like him, then I could never _ever_ tell them about the true nature of our relationship. I'd have to hide it from them forever, and I didn't think I could do that. It was hard enough now, what about if we ever got married? I couldn't hide that from them forever!

This was a mistake, such a big mistake, what were we thinking? We must have been insane, absolutely insane! Dougie was right; this had to be a trap of some sort. I didn't even want to think what kind of trap this could be right now, but what else could I think about? _Ponies?_ Oh God why did I agree to this?!

"You look like you're about to have a panic attack." Tom slid over the sofa arm and plopped down next to me.

"Wouldn't you be if you were bringing your friends around to meet your extremely posh and prejudiced parents for the first time?" I ran my hands over my face, resisting the urge to tear my hair out.

"Good point, but we're going to be on our best behaviour, and keep everything you said in mind. We're going to do our best to not f*ck up." Tom smiled a little, squeezing my arm.

"It's not you I'm worried about, I know you guys will do your absolute best, and you'll be charming enough to win over everybody else's parents in the world. But mine are a different story, they're... they're not, they already aren't keen on you guys, and I dread to think what they're going to say to you. I don't even know why they suddenly changed their minds on meeting you, Dougie's theory about it being a trap is sounding more and more likely by the minute." I bounced my knee; Tom didn't try and stop me.

"I'm sure you're stressing more than is needed Harry, we'll win them round. We won over Dougie's mum, making her trust us to look after her son easily enough. And, well I would say we won over Danny's parents easy enough, but that was before the whole gay thing." Tom hesitated.

"And it took him having panic attacks for them to finally listen. I'd rather not let this get that far." I sighed.

"It won't, because we're going to win them over. It may take some doing, but we will manage it. Nobody has resisted Dougie's cute face yet, I don't think it's going to start now." Tom nudged me with a smile.

"Hey, hands off my boyfriend." I nudged him back.

"No worries there, I've got my hands full with Danny, I couldn't handle another one." Tom held up his hands in innocence.

"We're not that bad!" Dougie bounced into the room, landing on my knees, arms around my shoulders.

"I'm not even dignifying that with an answer." Tom deadpanned, "Seriously though Harry, it'll be fine this weekend. We'll win over your parents easily enough and move on from this whole thing soon enough. In a few years, we'll be _laughing_ at all this."

"You better be right." I really wanted him to be right, more than anything.

"I am, we'll be on our best behaviour, prove ourselves worthy of being in a band with you, and that we're not leading you astray easily enough. It'll be just like talking to Sam when we picked Dougie up, just with fewer reassurances that we won't forget that Dougie's even in the same room, or bully him." Tom promised.

If I only he had been right. I still wished now that he had been right.


	6. Chapter 6

5 Dougie's POV

Preparing to meet Harry's parents suddenly hit the morning we were going to their house. We weren't leaving for another few hours, yet the feeling of impending nightmares hit the second I opened my eyes and realised what the date was. D-Day was here, and we had _no idea_ how this was going to go down. Were we actually going to manage to change Harry's parent's minds about us? Were we going to make this _worse?_ Could it get any worse?

They could find out we were together, oh _God_ they could find out we were together. And their opinion of me was the lowest, what would they do to me if they found out I was with their precious son?! This was a bad idea; this was a very, very bad idea...

"Doug, you're tense." Harry whispered from behind me, his voice muffled by my neck.

"It's D-Day, of course I'm tense." I turned over, pushing into his chest.

"Sh*t, it's today?" Harry swore, hand resting on my neck.

"Yep. Today is judgement day, literally." I nodded, wanting to just stay here, couldn't we stay here? Just lie in bed, forget what today was, never ever go to his parents and get judged and probably rejected. I knew they hated me, Tom and Danny; they didn't need to express this in person.

"F*ck," Harry groaned, tightening his hold on me, "I don't wanna go."

"And we can't back out now." I sighed, "We should probably get up." I left the warm safety of his arms and wandered out into the hallway. Danny's bedroom door was open, and I could just see the outline of Tom's foot hanging off the bed, and could hear Danny's snores reverberating down the corridor. How Tom ever slept through _that_ I didn't know, the man must have had earplugs.

Harry joined me in the bathroom, the two of us getting showered in a reasonable amount of time, before jumping on our band mates to wake them up too. They weren't pleased, but it was necessary to get them moving so we had enough time for several outfit changes, and whatever else Harry had planned to make sure we looked 'presentable' to his parents.

Another half an hour later, we were breakfasted and dressed, convening in the living room for Harry's inspection before we set off. I'd dressed in a pair of jeans and a shirt, forgoing my usual shorts, t-shirt and long socks combination. All my tattoos were covered, and my hair was styled to lay flat and straight against my head. Tom and Danny had done the same; even Danny had straightened his hair again, even though he had left it curly for weeks now.

"Well, what's the verdict?" I spread my arms, after Harry had watched us for a few minutes. He himself was in a shirt and jeans too, a watch on his wrist hiding his own tattoo.

"It'll have to do, cause I'm refusing that you all turn up in suits, that's going too far." Harry sighed again, hands on his hips.

"Good, cause I have nothing smarter. So is there anything else we need to know?" Tom asked, fiddling with the ring on his finger.

"Erm, well I've said about politeness and all that. No rude jokes, or anything about farts. Erm... can we tone down the couple stuff though? I've already said to Dougie that we can't be all too affectionate with each other, because my parents don't know about the nature of our relationship." Harry gave me an apologetic look, "So if we could just not mention it at all, that would be great. My parents will be fine with you two being together though, but don't be too in-your-face, because they don't like huge public displays of affection. Hand holding and small kisses will be fine, subtle hugs also fine, but no sitting on each other's laps, or anything like that."

"Right, subtle, we can do that." Danny nodded, taking a step further away from Tom.

"Great, so I think we can go... But before we do, I just want to say thank you to you guys for agreeing to come along. You've heard some horror stories from me about my parents but you're still agreeing to go, it means a lot." Harry smiled.

"It's important to you Harry, of course we agreed. We want to you be happy, and for your parents to like us too. There was no way we wouldn't agree." Tom shrugged it off, "So how about we get moving? We won't give a good impression if we're late."

So we set off, and I _really_ wished we hadn't.


	7. Chapter 7

6 Harry's POV

My stomach twisted in knots as we drove up to my parent's house, all of the boys staring out the window in wonder.

"Dude you did not say you grew up in a mansion!" Danny shouted, practically pressing his face against the window to get a closer look.

"It's not, it's just big." I told him, because it wasn't a mansion. My family were rich, but we weren't _that_ rich.

"Is that a moat?!" Tom pointed over to the moat.

"Yeah, it's got coy carp in it." I earned three surprised looks for that.

"You live in a massive house with a _moat with coy carp inside._ " Tom raised an eyebrow.

"Dude, you live in a mansion. An _actual mansion,_ you didn't tell me you were this damn loaded!" Dougie hit me in the shoulder playfully.

"I thought you figured out I was rich, what with the posh boarding school and everything." I shrugged; I'd always figured everyone knew that I was pretty well off because of my boarding school, so I hadn't bothered telling them.

"No wonder your parents hate us, we probably look like we're one step up from homeless compared to all this." Danny commented, I winced.

"They don't hate you, they just... they're just," I didn't have an alternative word for their feelings, "They don't hate you." I finished lamely.

"We'll soon find out." Dougie gulped, squeezing my hand for the last time for the next few hours.

"That we will." I looked round at my boys, wishing one last time that this went well, "Into battle then boys." I got out the car, leading everyone up the drive way, to where my parents, and to my surprise, my older siblings were waiting.

My parents looked, quite frankly, worried and like they were trying hard to not stick their noses up as the sight of us. But my siblings, Thomas and Katherine, were all smiles. They didn't share the same sentiments as my parents regarding my career and friendships, had met the boys several times too, we all got along great. It was just my parents who were the judgemental ones.

"Thomas, Katherine! I didn't realise you were coming!" I hugged my siblings, receiving joint hugs from them both back.

"Hey, it's a family meal, of course we were coming! We rarely see you; we'll take every chance we can get!" Katherine smiled.

"We wouldn't leave you to the wolves bro; we're here for back up." Thomas whispered in my ear, covering it in a tight hug.

"Thanks." I whispered back.

"Mum, Dad, I'd like you to meet Dougie, Tom and Danny, my band mates. Guys, this is my parents." I did the introductions.

"Thank you for inviting us, it's nice to meet you at last." Tom stepped forward first, offering his hand to shake.

"Well we figured that we would have to meet you at last, it has been four years." Mum said kindly, taking Tom's hand.

"And we thought that the best place to do it would be our annual ball!" Dad finished... oh _sh*t,_ that usually wasn't until mid-summer! It was April! Why were they throwing a ball _now?!_ Oh God, please tell me that Dougie was not right, Dougie couldn't be right about this being a trap!

"Annual ball, it's April. That's not usually held until summer." I questioned, pleaded with whatever higher power there was for this to be a joke. Not the ball, anything but the ball today!

The ball was a stupid get together my parents threw every year, bringing all the other rich families from the area around, so everybody could brag to each other about how well their children were doing. I hadn't been in two years, having found them tedious to go to. And because, well, Mum and Dad tried to get me with some of the other guests... They always wanted me to get with the other richer and more respectable offspring to continue the family name. I turned down every single one, finding them all incredibly annoying to talk to, and because _I loved Dougie,_ not that my parents knew that at the time...

Was this a rouse to pair me off with someone else, to try and make me forget all about the band, _my friends?_ Were they trying to make them all feel inadequate and leave? They couldn't! That was... That was all so _wrong!_ They wouldn't...

"We thought we would bring it forward this year, it is such a lovely time in April, and now that everyone is out of school and _working_ ," the word was emphasised, "we can hold these balls whenever we want! No need to think of school holidays!" Mum grinned, oh no, they were actually doing it. They were trying to pair me off and make the boys leave! Had they really just stooped to that level!? I couldn't believe it!

"Well if it's a ball, we should probably leave; we'll only be getting in the way." I started backing down the stairs, pulling on Tom's shirt to get him to move too. Danny and Dougie looked confused behind me, while Thomas and Katherine could only look apologetic.

"Nonsense! We invited you all, so you're staying! Come on in, there's so many people who want to talk to you Harry, it's been an age!" Mum ushered us all in, forcing us into the people filled hall.

"I'm sorry, I'm so sorry." I turned to the boys.

"Ball? We didn't hear anything about a ball!" Dougie panicked.

"I didn't know! They've sprung this on us! And I'm sorry, I'm _so_ sorry, but this isn't going to pleasant." I explained as best as I could what was going on, watching Dougie's heart break in his eyes, and I couldn't even do anything about it, because then everybody would see, and we'd be found out.


	8. Chapter 8

7 Dougie's POV

"They're going, they're going to try and match make for you?" I whispered at the end of Harry's explanation, barely holding in tears. They couldn't do this! Harry was mine, he was happy with me! He didn't need to be paired off with someone else, he could stay with me, he had to stay with me. He was mine!

"They're going to _try,_ not succeed. I'm so sorry Dougie, I really am, but it's just what they do at these events. They want me to marry into money, just like they did. It's all a ploy to keep the family name going and a stupid plan to make me 'come to my senses and get a real job.' But it's not going to work okay? I'm not going to let them win, you and me are solid, I'm not going anywhere." Harry promised, his hands on my shoulders. I could tell he wanted to pull me into a hug, but we couldn't, not without tipping off his parents to our relationship, which would make this all worse!

"If I had known that this was what they had planned, I would have never agreed to bringing you guys, I wouldn't have even come myself. I'm so sorry that this happened guys." Harry squeezed my shoulders.

"Well we should have guessed really, cause of their sudden change of mind. But, we can't change that now." Tom sighed in resignation, putting his arm around my waist, letting me lean between him and Danny.

"Can we just leave instead? All four of us? There's so many people here would could sneak out really easily." Danny suggested, running his hand over my side.

"I'm afraid not, my parents will be on the lookout for me all night, and will get incredibly pissed if I leave now. If you guys go, they'll view that like they've won and that you're exactly as they thought." Harry shook his head, "But I don't blame you, if you want to leave anyway. I'll completely understand and won't begrudge you, or force you to stay. It was a stupid idea to even come here in the first place, let alone _now_ with all this going on. So if you want to go, I'm not going to stop you. But I have to stay unless I want to get murdered later on."

"What do you want mate? Wanna leave?" Danny turned to me, giving me a look that said that he wouldn't mind what I answered. Everybody gave me that look, and I didn't know what I wanted to do.

I wanted to go home _badly,_ avoid this entire place and ignore it forever. But at the same time, could I leave Harry here? I didn't want to leave him here. It wasn't that I didn't trust him to come back to me, because I did, I trusted him completely, but the thought of him being here alone, getting introduced to so many people by himself, hating every moment while his parents looked on smugly, it was wrong. I didn't want to prove his parents right, have them think that I wasn't worthy of their son in any way, but could I _really_ stay for long? There were already so many people milling about, giving us disapproving looks, could I do that for hours?

"I want to stay." I'd do it for Harry, so he wasn't alone in this place, and to prove a point.

"Are you sure Doug? Cause you can go home, I won't make you stay if you want to go." Harry risked it, touching my cheek gently.

"I'm sure. I'll stay if you guys stay. We came here to prove your parents wrong, let's prove them wrong." I took a deep breath, getting ready for the worst few hours of my life.

"Alright, but if you want to leave, I'm not going to blame you okay? Just come and find me, or Thomas and Katherine and tell them, so I know, if I'm not with you." Harry gave me a small smile.

"We will." Tom nodded, straightening his shoulders.

"Great. So what do you say to finding some of the food? At the very least they'll be some good catering around here." Harry smiled a bit more, looked around quickly, kissed my forehead and led us to the food table.

"Harry honey, come over here a minute, I've found someone I'd like you to meet!" Harry's Mum called, somehow managing to sound posh at the same time. It made my stomach drop and twist inside me.

"Duty calls I guess. Again, I'm so sorry Doug. It's just for one night, then we're never coming back, promise." Harry sighed, turning and going over to his mother and whoever she wanted to pair him with.

In that moment, I _hated_ her.


	9. Chapter 9

8 Tom's POV

I made a point of keeping my arm around Dougie from the second Harry left, making sure our little one knew he wasn't alone. Currently, I wasn't even sure it was a good idea to have him here right now, being judged by Harry's family and their friends, while his parents tried to pair his lover off with other people. The poor boy looked heartbroken as it was, like he was having his heart stamped on, was it _really_ worth staying, just to prove a point?

If it was up to me, we would all be on the way home, never to return. I liked to avoid big parties like this as it was, let alone when the party was filled with posh people who seemed to hate us without reason. All of them were looking down their noses at us, like we were dirt on their shiny shoes. We had never even spoken to these people, why were they looking at us like this? I didn't understand, and I didn't think I wanted to either.

What made it worse was glancing at Harry, seeing him talking to so many different people. All of them beautiful and clearly from money, flirting outrageously with our drummer. Harry was clearly bored of it all, but putting on a nice face for it. Dougie was looking more and more downtrodden by the minute. I had known that this would be a bad idea, why had I ever encouraged it? I must be an idiot.

"Come on Dougie; let's find some food to eat." I gently directed him towards the food table, filled with... what even was half this stuff? It certainly didn't look like any 'party food' I'd ever come across.

"This is how the other half eat?" Danny raised an eyebrow, flanking Dougie's other side.

"Apparently." I nodded, glancing around to see if I could see Harry's brother or sister. They had grown up with this; hopefully they could help us out a bit. Thomas was with Harry, seemingly providing his brother with back up, while Katherine was... somewhere. Bugger.

"Well, just guess at random, can't be that bad, considering nobody has collapsed from food poisoning." I shrugged, noticing Dougie wasn't even really looking at the food; he was looking over at Harry. Poor boy.

"Hey, come on mate, Harry's not going to disappear if you stop looking at him for more than a second." I rubbed his arm, getting his attention.

"But, he's being introduced to others who could... who could," Dougie's breath hitched.

"Whoa there, he's not going to get stolen from you. Harry's loyal as anything, and he _adores_ you completely. I've never seen a man so besotted in his life, he wouldn't ever leave you." I cut him off before he could even complete his thought. It was ridiculous, Harry wasn't going to swan off with someone else, he wasn't like that. Even if he was, he was completely and utterly head over heels in love with Dougie, he wouldn't ever leave him like that. Nobody could be introduced to him who he would love more than Dougie.

"His parents..." Dougie teared up, his tiny hands shaking.

"Are idiots." Danny finished, "They don't know about you, and they don't respect what makes their son happy clearly. But no matter how much they try, they're not going to pry Harry from you forever. He may have to play nice for tonight, like we all do, but he loves _you,_ and that won't change."

"Exactly, he's not going to leave you, no matter who they introduce him to." I agreed, "Look, do you want to go home? I know you just said you didn't, but do you want to? This is clearly stressing you out a bit too much; maybe it'll be best for us to simply leave."

"We need to stay though, to prove ourselves." Dougie whispered, wrapping his arms around himself.

"No we don't. We don't have to prove ourselves to anybody. This was all a ploy to get us here and to show us up, but it's not going to work, okay? We can manage without Harry's posh parent's approval; we don't need them to be happy. So if you want, we can leave, go home and stay home. There is no shame in that, and Harry definitely won't hold it against you." I shook my head, refusing to make Dougie stay here if he really did not want to.

"I want to stay, we'll stay. I won't let them beat me or us." Dougie shook his head, drawing himself up as tall as he could and eating one of the bits of food on offer.

I wasn't sure about this, but I could hardly so no. So, we stayed, surrounded by suited up people, laughing together, sending disapproving looks our way every time we so much as moved. I _hated_ it, but it wasn't until when the dancing started did things go completely wrong.


	10. Chapter 10

9 Harry's POV

"Mum, why are you doing this? I'm happy as I am, I don't need to find someone." I hissed at her, wishing she would stop doing this to me. Every time I came down for one of these parties, she always tried to pair me off with someone, even though I didn't _want_ it. It was part of the reason why I now avoided these things, so I didn't end up being pushed into awkward conversations with people I hardly knew, or simply were not attracted to, all because my parents wanted me to find someone who would break me from my apparent ridiculous life style. I _hated_ it, and hated it even more now that I knew that Dougie was watching it.

All I wanted to do was run to him and hold him close, promise that nothing would happen between anybody here and me, that I loved _him,_ and nobody else. Maybe then my parents would see just who made me happy and stop this mad plan to push me away from my friends and lover. I doubted it though; they'd probably hit the roof and go ballistic at the idea of me dating someone so apparently 'common.'

"Because it is needed Harry, we do want grandchildren eventually." That was _really_ going to be Mum's answer? _Really?_

"Go ask Thomas and Katherine, they're far more likely to be willing to give you want you want." I glared at her.

"Harry don't make a scene!" Dad warned, I resisted the urge to tell him just how much of a scene I could make if I wanted to.

"Well if you insist on setting me up with someone when I don't want to, then I'm allowed to complain." I argued, just as someone came up to us.

"Emily hello! You remember our son Harry don't you?" Mum immediately put on the charm offensive, smiling and putting on her best 'posh voice' as well.

"Oh of course! The one who left school early to join a band, how is that going now?" Emily gave me a condescending smile.

"Well we just had our fifth number one hit recently and are planning on going on tour soon." I answered smugly, always ready to prove that my band was _incredible,_ and that this was not a mistake. This band was what I wanted, and just because it wasn't seen as a proper way to make a living, it was what _I_ wanted.

"Oh, would I have heard this song?" Emily asked, looking slightly wrong footed.

"Possibly, if you've listened to the radio at all recently." I smirked.

"Sorry, can't say it rings a bell." Emily looked confused, damn it.

"Well look it up, it's a good one. Has to be if it went number one." I gave a condescending smile of my own.

"Harry, be nice. Sorry for our son, his manners have all but gone since he joined a band, it's like he's a different person." Dad subtly elbowed me in the ribs.

"I like to think of it more as becoming my true self." I said sarcastically, Emily looked a little alarmed. Good.

"Oh well, oh I think I see Clarissa over there, I haven't seen her in an age, I must go over and say hello. Good day." Emily rushed off.

"Bye." I waved my fingers, one day, several more to go.

"Harry, that was rude and uncalled for!" Dad growled quietly in my ear, making it look like he was whispering in my ear.

"It was rude to bring me here under false pretence in the vain hope of getting me to run away from my band and my friends to come back here and be a good boy!" I argued, because it was true! If _I_ was being rude, what were they being?! It certainly wasn't nice or civil!

They had _lied_ and said they wanted to finally meet my friends, and get to know them, but instead they were trying to get me paired off with someone and to push my friends out. Well it wasn't going to work, if they wanted to be disrespectful, then I was going to be disrespectful back! And if they didn't like it, I was going to go home with my boyfriend and my friends and refuse to return until they actually treated us all with some respect!

"We did not bring you here until false pretence!" Dad argued, barely managing to keep it subtle.

"Well what do you call it then? Leaving out bits of information to suit your needs?" I raised an eyebrow; really what could they actually explain this as? There wasn't much!

"Come here right now." Dad grabbed my arm and yanked me from the room, into the deserted hallway, "Watch your tongue young man, I will not take such insolence from you." He hissed, the doors banging closed behind him.

"Then don't lie to me and treat me like I'm idiot child." I argued, I wasn't having it, I was not going to let him and Mum bring us all the way down here to humiliate my friends and separate me from them! If my parents really did not like my friends, well, f*ck them. They were _my friends,_ I knew them for who they were and loved them as they were, I didn't need my judgemental parents sticking their noses in and trying to mess up a good thing for me.

"Don't act like one then! You're being rude to our guests and that is not how I raised you." Dad glared, his face turning red.

"You mean it's not how boarding school raised me?" It was a low blow, but I was so wound up by this, I was going to take it.

"How dare you, I raised all three of you children, and sent you to boarding school to give you the best education we could afford!" Dad's voice rose further.

"And cleverly put you up the social ladder by introducing you to other influential people!" I hated this, I hated all of it! Everything my parents did was to further their social standing or to protect the family name; _none_ of it was for _us!_ No matter what was actually good for me and my siblings, or what we wanted, we always did what was 'good for the family name' even when it made us miserable. And right now I was miserable here, I was miserable anywhere near my parents and their snobby comments and 'better than you' attitude. They never listened, and they never cared!

"Business had nothing to do with where we sent you to school!" Dad defended himself.

"As if! All of it was! Every single little thing was to further _your_ standing, nothing mattered as long as you were seen to be rich and in charge! Even now, when we're all adults here, you expect us all to bow down to you and Mum so you look good, and get rid of my friends! I can't tell you anything about myself without you judging it and looking down on people you barely even know! Do you know what that's like, to be so scared to tell your own parents who you really love? You can't even imagine what it's like to come down and hide the fact that I'm in love and happy with Dougie!" I stopped the second I said it, realising that I'd just made a terrible mistake.

"You're _what?_ " Dad went redder than I'd ever seen him.

"Harry, did I just hear you say that you're in love with that... with that _boy_ in there?" Mum looked disgusted, looking back at Dougie, Tom and Danny, who had just arrived at the door.

"Well so what if I am huh? So what?! He's a wonderful human being and he makes me happy, and you'd know that if you stopped judging for thirty damn seconds!" I shouted, there was no going back; I may as well have gone whole hog in this.

"You're dating this... this boy? This common boy?! You're actually seeing this _vermin?_ How could you Harry? How could you stoop so low?!" Dad shouted back, everybody gasped.

"He's not vermin! And I have not stooped low to date him! I love him, and you would understand that if you had a shred of decency inside you instead of contempt!" I went to go to Dougie, who had gone a very bad shade of white.

"Don't. You. _Dare._ Move. Young. Man." Dad hissed.

"Mr Judd, if you would let us-" Tom interjected before I could speak.

"Don't you dare speak to me either! None of you speak to me! Get out, all three of you! Get out of here!" Dad ordered, nobody moved.

"I SAID GET OUT!" Dad shouted, violently shaking with rage.

The boys started to rush out the room, I turn to go with them, but Dad grabbed me a hauled me back in again.

"You're not going anywhere young man! You're never going with them ever again! I will make sure you never disgrace this family ever again by stepping out with these miscreants!"


	11. Chapter 11

10 Dougie's POV

"Dougie! Dougie no! Don't go! Dougie!" Harry shouted, struggling against his dad, getting nowhere.

"Harry!" I reached for him, digging my heels in so the security couldn't drag me out. I couldn't leave! I couldn't leave without Harry, this couldn't be happening! I didn't do anything, I didn't do anything wrong!

"Get them out of here!" Harry's dad shouted, yanking his son roughly into his arms.

"No! Let me go! Let me go! Dougie!" Harry cried out as we got shoved outside, the door slamming behind us.

"HARRY! HARRY!" I sobbed, getting pushed into the car, Tom being forced to drive outside of the gates.

"Take me back! Take me back to him! I can't leave him!" I banged on the window, tears streaming down my face.

We didn't know what was going to happen to Harry now; we couldn't just _leave_ him here! We couldn't leave! Why did this have to happen!? Why did they have to find out like this? And why did they have to react like that? I didn't understand, I couldn't understand _why_ this was happening!

The gates locked behind us, locking us out of the house so there was no way we could get back in again.

"Why? Why did this happen why?" I cried, feeling arms wrap around me.

"I'm sorry, I'm so sorry Doug." Danny whispered into my hair, letting me sob into his chest.

"We need to do something! We can't just leave him!" I couldn't go home, how could we go home?! We needed to do something; we had to get Harry out of there!

"But there isn't much we can do here. We will only make it worse by trying to get him back out." Tom climbed over the seat, squashing in with us.

"But we can't just leave him! We don't know what they'll do to him in there!" I didn't know what was going to happen to Harry, I had to know and get him out. His dad had been so _angry,_ what would he do to him?! He could hurt him, he could have done anything!

"Harry's safe while there are still guests inside, his parents have an image to maintain, and they've already messed with it by causing this scene, they won't risk it further until everybody leaves. That may give Harry some time to escape or something. He's done it before, he can run out again." Tom answered, rubbing my back.

"That was different! He wasn't surrounded by people!" I whimpered, Harry had escaped his _prep school_ once, to get to the band auditions, he didn't actually escape his house! Especially not a house filled with people and very angry parents!

"He'll think of something, he's our Harry, he always does. For now though, we should go, before anybody notices we're still outside." Tom smiled a little, though he looked too pale for it to be of any comfort.

"Harry will make it back to us, no matter what his dad says, he will get out again and get back to us." Danny promised.

I waited for two full days, constantly checking my phone and email for any message from Harry. But none turned up, and he himself didn't show any signs of turning up either. It was awful, waiting for hours on end and not knowing where Harry was or if he was safe. We didn't have a clue on what had happened to him, or what his parents were planning for him.

After that angry outburst, I dreaded the worst, thinking that maybe Harry was badly hurt and couldn't escape, or locked in somewhere so he couldn't get out. But he hadn't made any indication that that could happen before... Could I have been exaggerating? I didn't think so... the way his dad had looked at him that night had been like he wouldn't have been far off from killing his son. Oh _God_ what if he was going to kill Harry for some reason?!

He'd said that he would make sure we never got near Harry again, would he make him quit the band? Would he do that to us? Probably... oh God what were going to do?! What if Harry was forced far away from us, and not allowed to return? I couldn't live without him, I needed him, I needed him so much. This was so bad, this was awful! What were we thinking going to that party?!

This was all a mistake, why did we ever think that going would be a good idea?


	12. Chapter 12

11 Harry's POV

"Dougie! Dougie no! Let me go! Let me go!" I screamed out, struggling hard against the controlling hands.

"What so you can run after him and degrade yourself further? I don't think so young man!" Mum looked disgusted at the idea.

"I hate you! I hate you so much!" I cried, hating everyone in this house, everyone in this world for making this happen.

"You are _so_ lucky we're far away from the party right now." Dad hissed in my face, anger making his body shake, "How could you do this? How could possibly be so _stupid_ to fall in love with that boy? It was bad enough that you left your studies to join a band, and now you _fall_ for one of them? What were you thinking?!"

"Because Dougie is a wonderful guy who _makes me happy,_ he accepts me for who I am and doesn't judge me for my choices! He respects me and treats me like a human being, unlike you!" I pulled myself out of his hold; glaring at the man I called my father. How could he do this to me? How could he possibly do this to his own son? I'd fallen in love and he reacted like _this?_

"I will treat you with respect when you start acting like you deserve respect from me! You have gone against everything we ever taught you and thrown everything we ever gave you back in our faces!" Dad argued, grabbing my arm and holding me in front of him.

"Oh sorry for searching for some happiness, for doing what I wanted to do with my life! I didn't know that was such a crime!" I yanked away again, refusing to let him touch me. I was ashamed to be his son, so much so I wasn't even scared of what he was going to do to me. I wouldn't be coming back here again, no matter what he said, I was leaving at the soonest opportunity and never coming back. If I wasn't accepted here, then I had nothing to say to these people.

"It is when you are associating yourself with people so much _lower_ than yourself! I cannot believe you are with that _boy,_ I knew letting you out of my sight was a bad idea!" Dad shouted.

"The guests dear, keep your voice down." Mum warned him, glancing towards the rooms where the party still continued, nobody any wiser to what was going on out here.

"That _boy_ has a name! His name is Dougie, and I did not lower myself to associate with him! He is just as important as anybody, regardless of where he comes from!" I argued, I couldn't believe that Dad thought I was _lowering myself_ to even talk to Dougie! How could he be so stuck-up as to think that? Why did he have to be so concerned with class and where people came from? Why couldn't he just _accept_ people as they were?

"That's what he wants you to think! He is nothing compared to us, and you will do well to remember that! Everybody of lower status is only out for our money and power, that is all!" Dad growled, heaving in breath.

"He doesn't! He doesn't care for the money or the power, as a band we're well enough off as it is! Dougie loves me for who I am, not where I come from, and you would know that if you had the decency to actually talk to him!" I hated how stubborn he was, hated how he refused to even talk to anybody he deemed unworthy, everybody had to be of our social status or higher to get any type of recognition.

"I will not associate myself with someone so _common._ Especially not one who wants to corrupt my son into a disobedient little delinquent and ruin our family name." Dad turned his nose up.

"And it's all about the family name with you isn't it? Why does nothing else matter to you? Why must our happiness have to take second place to our reputation? I love Dougie with all my heart, and if he was well off like us, you would have absolutely no issue with him. You have barely spoken a word to him, and you already hate him, simply because he isn't as well off." I hated it, hated it with a passion.

"I don't need to speak a word to him to know that he is no good for you. Now go and join the party, we have neglected it for too long." Dad pointed towards the ballroom.

"No. I'm going home, if you won't accept my friends or my boyfriend, then I'm not staying here either." I turned to leave.

"Oh you're not going anywhere." Dad grabbed me again.

"Am I not? On who's authority? Because last time I checked, I'm a legal adult now; you can't do anything to me because I'm not a child. So I think I'll be leaving." I tried to get out of his hold again, but the grip strengthened, hurting my arm.

"I don't think so Harry, you're staying here. You're never going to go back to that band, you're going to go back to school and live a respectable life. I won't have you ruining yourself further than you already are." Dad tightened his hand arm my wrist.

"You can't make me! I'm an adult, you can't control me anymore!" I was twenty one, he couldn't do this! He didn't have control over me, he couldn't! I was an adult, I was a damn adult!

"Watch me. I won't have you throwing your life away for a money grabbing commoner." Dad smirked evilly, he couldn't do this! He couldn't!


	13. Chapter 13

12 Danny's POV

Dougie sat and stared out of the window, phoning Harry's mobile every half hour, shivering and pale with worry. We'd all tried to move him, but he wouldn't budge, so scared about Harry's whereabouts and what was happening to him right now. I couldn't blame him for his worry; we were all worried about him, scared over what was happening to our drummer.

His dad had been so _angry_ at the house, and had vowed to never let us see Harry again. We could only think the worst, especially after hearing the horror stories Harry had previously told us about his parent's thoughts on us. And now they knew that Harry and Dougie were a couple, something Harry hadn't wanted them to find out. Judging by their match making attempts at the party, they were _really_ going to be happy about this...

"What are we going to do Tom? We can't just do nothing, Harry could be in serious trouble, and Dougie isn't well either." I glanced at the teenager by the window; phone clutched in his hands like if he held on tight enough it would ring.

"I don't know. We've never... This didn't happen with your parents, they were angry, but they didn't try to take you away from us." Tom bit lip.

"No, instead they threw me out. Not much of an improvement." I sighed, cringing at the memory.

"Sorry, I just meant," Tom started.

"I know what you meant, I understand. I'm trying to figure out some similarities myself, if we did something similar then, it could help now. But back then, we were together, not separated. It was easier to ignore, but now we can't do that, they have Harry and aren't going to let him go." I held onto his hand, hoping it provided some comfort.

"And your parents started out liking us; we didn't have to win them round." Tom sighed, looking over at Dougie, worry in his eyes.

"No, we just had to prove that being gay didn't make me less of a person." I sighed, that had been tough, especially when after I finally won Mum round, Dad had filed for divorce. He had come round to the idea of me being gay, and stated over and over that it wasn't because of me, but I couldn't help but sometimes blame myself.

"This time we have to prove we're good people. After getting them to even pay attention to us, at least we have Thomas and Katherine-" Tom suddenly stopped talking.

"Tom, what have you just thought up?" I asked, knowing that face, it was the 'I have an idea' face. Usually pulling that face was followed by a brilliant idea, mostly about a song or album or tour, but I had a feeling this was more about this situation.

"Dougie have you phoned Thomas or Katherine? They are there, and on our side, they may have some information about Harry?" Tom was a genius, an actual genius.

"No. I, I didn't think of that..." Dougie whispered, hastily dialling up Thomas Judd, Harry's older brother.

"Doug, put it on speaker." I wanted to hear this conversation if there was one! I wanted to know as soon as possible if Harry was safe or not!

Dougie put the phone on speaker, the sound of ringing filling the room, until it was eventually picked up.

"Thomas Judd, who is this?" Harry's brother answered, thank God for that!

"Thomas, thank God! Are you with Harry?" Tom raced to speak first.

"Er, yes. But I can't talk right now, it's not safe." Thomas whispered, the sound of footsteps echoing out of the phone.

"Why isn't it safe? Is Harry safe?! Can he get out?" Dougie sat up, looking panicked.

"As safe as possible right now. I'm doing what I can. But I have to go, I'll phone you back later, I can't talk right now." Thomas cut the call off.

"Thomas?! Thomas?! F*ck!" Dougie swore, tearing up. "Why can't he talk? Tom why can't he talk right now?"

"I don't know! Sh*t this is bad... He said that Harry is as safe as possible though, so that's a good sign... I think." Tom chewed on his lip again.

"And he's phoning back later... We can find out more then." I added, that was a good sign, right? It was a good sign that Thomas was going to ring back later, he could tell us more then. We just had to wait a few more hours, then we would have some answers.

We had a secure line to Harry; we could pass a message along, or find some way to help out... We wouldn't be useless in this, right? There would be a way we could help, there had to be a way for us to help...


	14. Chapter 14

13 Harry's POV

I was watched over day and night; only family members were allowed to talk to me unsupervised. The rest of the time, I was watched like a hawk, kept under guard and never allowed to do anything deemed to be 'disrespectful.' I wasn't allowed to do _anything_ really, just eat and sleep while Dad looked into whatever courses he wanted me to enrol in. He was driving me _insane,_ barely deeming it necessary to talk to me, if he needed something from me, he ordered it. Mum was barely any better, choosing to give me so much disappointed looks, practically weeping if she was ever reminded that I had dared to fall in love with a _common boy._

All this because I'd fallen in love? All of this was seriously because I had dared to join a band and fall in love? My parents were acting like I had killed someone, or committed an awful crime! I hadn't done anything _bad;_ I'd followed my heart and dared to do something that wasn't really heard of around here. It was ridiculous! I was being punished for simply loving someone, I couldn't believe that this was how far they would go, refusing to let me out of the house or out of sight, not letting me have my phone, or anything else I could use to contact anybody. I was under literal house arrest for falling in love; did anybody else find it absolutely ridiculous to put me under house arrest for _falling in love?_ And as a bl**dy adult who knew what he was doing?!

But even so, I couldn't even begin to think of what it was like for Dougie, Tom and Danny back home. They must have been worried sick, especially Dougie, who had a tendency to over think and panic. I wanted to run back to him and reassure him that everything was okay; I would get myself back to him. I just had to make a plan to get out from these people, then I'd never come back here again. But I couldn't even get a plan together, it seemed like every chance I had was snatched away from me by whoever was watching over me. I couldn't escape through any windows, couldn't run out the front door, even if I did I would have to get past the guards and over the fence, then somehow home without getting caught. It seemed impossible, it was so much easier to sneak out in boarding school, there wasn't as much security there at night as there was here!

I couldn't even ask Thomas or Katherine to help, in fear of getting them into trouble, they had to stay on Mum and Dad's good side, or we would all be for the chopping block. I had to do this by myself, had to get out, or at least get a message to the boys, but how?

"Harry! So this is where you've got to! Come here, I need to have a talk with you about going back to school!" Thomas came into the room, big smile on his face, playing up to the 'perfect son' idea.

"Go away Thomas, I'm not in the mood." I didn't want to talk about schooling, or going back to anything other than my band. I missed my band; I wanted to get back to them! They were all I wanted, all the time; they were literally all I wanted. What I wouldn't give to hold Dougie in my arms again.

"Oh come on, it's important. We can't have you falling behind now can we? You'll miss something." Thomas sent me a _look,_ waving his arms around, showing me a flash of his phone. Was he trying to tell me something? Was it something to do with a message from the boys?

"Fine. If you insist." I sighed, getting up and following him.

A guard made to follow, but Thomas stopped him. "You don't have to follow, it's only me, he's not going anywhere."

"Yes Sir, I will join Master Harry after your talk." The guard nodded, how come Thomas was a Sir and I was just Master? My God, were my parents literally demoting me that far? Wasn't it enough that they had taken everything of value on me, including any piece of clothing they deemed 'inappropriate?' This was going too far now.

"Please tell me you have some sort of news for me." I whispered the minute we were safely in Thomas' room.

"I got a phone call. From your boys." Thomas nodded, "I couldn't tell them much, as Dad was in the room, still grumbling about sending you to some school to straighten you out. But I managed to tell them that you're as okay as possible, and promise that you could ring them later. And, well, now is later on. Dad's gone out to sort some business; Mum is in her study on the other side of the house. So, I thought it was a perfect time for you to at least a get a message out to your boys."

"Thomas, have I ever told you that you're my favourite sibling?" I grinned, hugging him tight in thanks. He was a genius! Thomas was an absolute genius and a brilliant older brother! He had found a way!

"You'll owe me for this. But for now, use the most of the time you have. Phone your boyfriend, let him know you're safe and figure out how to sort this mess out." Thomas handed me the phone, going to stand by the door to keep guard.

With a shaking hand, I dialled Dougie's number, the phone only ringing twice before it was answered.

"Thomas?" Dougie's whispering voice asked.

"Dougie." I breathed, _so_ glad to hear his voice once more.


	15. Chapter 15

14 Dougie's POV

"HARRY!" I couldn't help but shout, shocked that it was _Harry_ on the phone, after so long without hearing a word from him! He was on the phone, I could hear him speak, we could _talk_ again!

"Yeah it's me; Thomas managed to sneak me a phone. He's standing watch for a bit, so we can talk." Harry was smiling, I could tell.

"Where are you? How are you? What's going on? Are you okay?" I blurted before I could say anything else, desperate to know everything, I had to know _everything_ right now! I couldn't have a conversation until I knew that Harry was safe and not hurt!

"I'm still at the house, and I'm okay. Dad's obviously p*ssed as anything about who I've chosen to love, and has decided that he is going to knock all this rebellious nature out of me, by sending me back to school or some cr*p. He's not physically hurting me or anything, to be honest, he's barely speaking to me, but he's currently determined to make me a good boy." Harry explained everything that was going on.

"He isn't going to see reason, or ever let you go is he?" I whispered, fearing the worst. I could feel my heart break at the idea of us being separated for the rest of our lives, Harry's parents trying to control his every move. They were already controlling enough, now they were trying to tell him who he could and could not fall in love with! How could they be so _cruel?_

"He's not I'm afraid. Mum won't see reason either, the two of them are determined to keep us apart and make me a respectable son. Thomas and Katherine have tried talking to them, but it only makes them angrier." Harry sighed, how could they do this? _How?_ Couldn't they see that Harry was happy _here,_ with us? Why didn't they approve of their sons happiness? I didn't understand why they didn't want their son to be happy on his own terms!

"Sh*t, is there any chance of escape though? Could you run back to us or something?" Danny asked, him and Tom hovering near me so they could hear the conversation too.

"Not currently no. I'm under constant guard; someone is with me at all times. And even if I could jump out the back, there's acres of land to get through and a fence to jump without detection. We have too much security around here for me to escape, even at night." Harry sighed again, I swore at the idea.

"What are we going to do then? You can't be forced to going back to school and away from us, it isn't fair." I didn't know what we could do; it made me feel so helpless. All we had wanted was to be in a band, we didn't ask to fall for each other, or to be disapproved of.

"Doesn't this count as kidnapping or something? Cause you're an adult now, and are being held against your will, that counts as kidnapping doesn't it?" Tom asked, chewing on a nail in thought.

"I don't know if it counts when it's a parent doing it. Maybe you should ask Fletch." We all paused as Harry said it.

"Fletch!" We all said together, how the hell didn't we think of Fletch? He was our manager, he knew about legal things! He could somehow work this out, surely!

"We'll phone Fletch! He can sort stuff like this out, or at least get the record company involved, at least one of them will know what to do!" Tom grinned, perking up for the first time in days.

"He must do, he knows all of our contracts and the rest of it. He must have some sort of legal thing to get out of this. Or at least have an idea of what to do in a situation like this!" Danny agreed, grin spreading across his face too.

"He sorted out things with my mum when I moved into the band house because I was too young! Didn't he do something similar with all of us before we moved in?" I asked, sure that he had had some sort of agreement with our parents because we were so young when we joined the band.

"I think he did, I remember he had a long conversation with my parents over this, but I'm not sure what exactly it was. Phone him and ask him about it, there must be something in that we can use in our favour!" Harry answered, sounding a lot more like himself.

"We'll phone him as soon as possible, and tell Thomas what we find out. Just sit tight a while longer, we'll get you out of there in no time!" I promised, we could do this, Fletch would have a plan! Fletch always had a plan, he could get Harry out! Or at least calm his parents a bit, or something! He could do it! We had hope!


	16. Chapter 16

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15 Tom's POV

"Boys! What can I do you for? Where's Harry?" Fletch asked as we ran into his office, nearly falling over each other to get inside and start talking.

"Harry's parents are holding him hostage!"

"Harry keen taken by his parents and they won't let him come home!"

"Harry is trapped at his parents' house and they hate us!"

"Whoa, whoa, slow down and one at a time. Tom, what has happened with Harry and his parents?" Fletch stopped us, turning to face me. So I told him the entire situation, starting from the invite to Harry's parent's house, to the double cross at the party, to the reveal of Harry's relationship with Dougie, to the phone call last night.

"They've what? They have actually taken Harry away and are refusing to let him out of their sight, or come back to the band?" Fletch's eyes bugged out of his head once I finished.

"Yeah and they won't let us talk to him or anything! He's trapped in their house and they want to send him back to school to be respectable and proper like they want him to be and he can't even see us or even talk to us ever again!" Dougie barely even breathed as he spoke; face so pale he looked seriously ill.

"Right, and do you have any ideas why they have reacted this way?" Fletch raised an eyebrow.

"Because they're stuck up and think they're too good for us." Danny answered.

"Because we're too common for them." I said at the same time.

"They think that we're bad influences on Harry." Dougie whispered, I wrapped my arm around his shoulders, if anything just to keep the boy upright.

"I did suspect something like this would happen at some point... Are you sure you didn't do anything to upset them?" Fletch had us all shouting that of course we didn't! We had all been on our best behaviour all evening and it was _them_ being rude to _us_ that did it!

"Alright! Alright! I was just asking, I need the full picture before I can act, you boys know this by now. I was just making sure, so I don't rush into anything acting high and mighty, when really there's another side to the story I don't know about." Fletch put his hands up innocently.

"Fine, but what can you do then? Can you grab Harry back somehow, isn't there something in our contract to say that they can't do this and we need him?" I asked, surely there had to be something like that in there. It couldn't all just be about our music and that boring stuff.

"Well they certainly can't hold him against his will, especially now that he's a full grown adult man who can make decisions for himself. That's always a good leg to stand on when sorting out anything like this, not that I have sorted out anything like this before mind you. I don't think there is anything in your contracts about taking any of you back without your consent either, so they legally can't do what they're doing." Fletch sighed, leaning on the desk. "The issue with it though is getting his parents to listen and let them bring him home. I highly doubt they will just let him walk out of there, and I'd rather not get the police involved as that can cause issues. I'd rather keep Harry's relationship with his family as intact as possible, because who knows what they'll do in retaliation... How much do they know of your behind the scenes activities?"

"Not much, Harry doesn't tell them anything in fear of something like this happening. They wouldn't approve of him doing anything but band practice and being a good boy in general. But they do have some pre-set ideas about what we're like, so who knows what they think they know, why?" I answered, not quite sure what Fletch was getting at.

"I'm just making sure, in case they want to retaliate by blabbing to the press about something you don't want others to know about. We don't know how they'll react if Harry gets taken back from them and 'corrupted' further or whatever they want to believe, so we don't really want to p*ss them off more than we have to." Fletch bit his lip.

"Fletch, the only thing they know about is our relationship." Dougie spoke up.

"And that's what got us into this situation." Danny continued, rubbing our boy's side gently.

"Not as bad as first thought then. Right, leave this with me; I'll see what I can do. But no promises, I don't know what they have planned, or if they have some sort of posh lawyer working for them to wheedle their way out of this. I'll do my best, but whether it gets Harry back to us or not is another matter." Fletch sighed again, and in that moment, I could tell everyone in the room wished this went well and Fletch got us what he wanted.


	17. Chapter 17

**Neenkah - :D**

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16 Harry's POV

"What you need to understand is that Harry is an important part of the band, he is needed by the other boys, in more ways than just the fact that they need a drummer." A very familiar voice was saying as I wandered down to breakfast one morning. I'd have laid in bed longer, but I wasn't allowed to sleep past eight in the morning anymore, _respectable people are always awake early, none of that 'laying in' rubbish you've been told about._ Whatever the hell that meant.

"Fletch? What are you doing here?" I stepped into the kitchen, surprised to see him here so soon. I had only had my phone conversation with Dougie and co two days ago, and he'd already turned up? Man, he was quicker than I first thought...

"Harry! Manners!" Mum immediately chastised, for God's sake, couldn't I even express shock at someone I knew arriving without saying good morning first?! I swear this was not what I was taught as a child; then again, I wasn't exactly one for _listening..._

"Fine." I groaned, "Good morning Fletch, how are you on this fine morning? Are you here to rescue me from this and get me back to my boyfriend and friends?" I made sure to put on the best sarcastic-but-polite tone I could manage, just to wind up my parents. Fletch had to hide a laugh at my antics, as did Thomas and Katherine.

"Very well Harry, and I was talking to your parents just now about how you are a very much needed part of the band." Fletch politely answered, managing a smile that didn't look like he found my comment hilarious.

"As I've been trying to say myself for days now." I started pulling out the cereal boxes, resisting the urge to eat out of the box like I would at home. I could only annoy my parents so far while having this conversation, if I went too far, Fletch wouldn't get a word in edgeways before he got kicked out the house.

"We understand that drummers are important parts of a band, but Harry is not the only drummer in the world. Get someone else in instead." Mum answered, a bit more articulate than Dad was, as per usual. Dad was fine with talking while he wasn't angry, or talking about something he didn't want to discuss. The rest of the time, it was better when Mum did the talking.

"But Harry is _our_ drummer; he's always been our drummer. He and the boys have a special connection and they all work well together, we don't want anybody but Harry in this band." Fletch insisted.

"And we don't want our son in that band anymore! He's not going back to those boys who lead him astray with their common ways, and especially not back to that _boyfriend,_ " Mum said the word with such hatred, "I will not let my son throw his life away for some stupid little lower class boy who most probably only wants him for his money! I simply won't stand for it! Harry is our son, and we will decide what is best for him, and what is best is that he stays with us and becomes a proper gentleman like he was supposed to." I received a small glare at the end of that.

"None of my boys are 'common' or money grabbers! They are hard working, respectful boys who put their all into their work and deeply love and care for one another. Whatever preconceived notion you have about any of them is simply not true, they are lovely boys are deserve respect. Harry is included in this, he is a wonderful man who is very gentle and loving, he has practically raised Dougie since the kid joined the band, he is not ruining your family name in any way. If anything, he's living up to and _exceeding_ your expectations by proving himself to be such a responsible and kind human being." Fletch defended him, squeezing my shoulder.

"We are very responsible, by looking after each other and keeping each other safe. We don't go out partying in nightclubs, or doing illegal things. When we're not working, we're all usually hanging out together as a group, watching films and playing games. Every day we work incredibly hard at what we do, we don't have time to screw around that much. The guys are lovely too, they're not horrible, money grabbing people, they do care for me, like I care for them." I agreed, leaning a little into Fletch's hands. He was like a father figure to us, I had missed his guidance over the past couple of days, especially with my own father being a bit of an a*rsehole recently.

"No. You're not going back Harry; we don't want you anywhere near those band mates again, no matter how well you paint them. For all we know you're lying to us just to get back to them, and we won't stand for that to happen. You're staying here."


	18. Chapter 18

**Rebbie444 - thank you! :D**

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17 Dougie's POV

"What do you mean you couldn't get Harry back?!" I shouted at Fletch, how could he have not got Harry back?! It couldn't have been that hard could it?! Didn't he have some sort of legal thing he could do to get him back?!

"I'm sorry boys, I tried, honestly I did. But they were not having it at all. I defending you like you can't believe, telling them how responsible and well behaved you are, but they wouldn't listen. Legal stuff didn't even touch them either." Fletch sighed, at least looking apologetic.

"But we have to get him out! You were our only hope to get him out!" I cried, what could we do? Fletch was our only hope, he had the only hope of getting Harry from his parents, they listened to him last time, why couldn't they listen this time again?!

"I'm sorry boys, but they were so stubborn, practically a brick wall against any argument I had. And quite frankly they were so damn rude at one point; I had a hard time not losing my temper with them. If they were any worse I would have just screwed things up further." Fletch apologised.

"But, what are we going to do now? We can't just leave him, and we can't get him out with his parent's permission. What are they even doing to him?" I sat down heavily, pushing my head into my hands in despair.

"They're, they're trying to get Harry to behave how they want him to, behaving like them. I guess it's like they want to train him into who they have always wanted him to be, naturally Harry's fighting them as much as he can. But he won't be able to fight forever, at some point he is going to have to give in to get through this, unless we can somehow to get him out." Fletch sighed again, chewing on his lip.

"So what can we do?! He's stuck there, and while he has some fight in him now, what about in a week from now, a month? And we can't continue without him, we need him, _Dougie_ needs him! There has to be some way we can get Harry back, or help him to escape. Can't we contact the police or something?" Tom near shouted in panic, squeezing my shoulder.

"If you want to give yourselves a tonne of bad press and worry fans at the same time. We need to do this discreetly, without much media attention, so no police." Fletch answered.

"I don't care about bad press right now! Harry is more important than bad press!" I couldn't care less if the press found out, what could they do, apart from say some bad things? And what did that even have to do with anything? If I got my boyfriend back, then who cared if the press were saying bad things?!

"His parents could get involved with it, and use it as leverage against us. It's best we don't give them the ammunition to destroy your careers." Fletch answered, damn it, he had a point.

"Fine, but if nothing else works; we are getting the police involved." I gave in, seeing the sense in that. But still hating it, why did Harry's parents have to have so much power? Why did they have to do this? I just wanted to have my boyfriend back, that was all. And if Fletch couldn't get him back, what hope did we have?

I felt so helpless, like I couldn't do anything to save Harry myself, none of us could. Fletch had been our biggest hope, there was nothing else. He was articulate and sensible, someone Harry's parents respected in their own way. They listened to him when Harry had wanted to join the band, I didn't understand why they couldn't listen to him again now!

"I'm so sorry boys; I don't know what else we can do. There has to be something, but I have no idea what. But Harry's a creative and stubborn boy, he may manage to convince them himself, or get out some other way. He certainly won't give up, that's for certain." Fletch promised, but I couldn't help but feel like he was lying to make me feel better. Harry was stubborn and could get creative when he needed to, but how was he supposed to get out of that house, where he was guarded and covered by so much security he could barely move without someone knowing about it?

Harry didn't have a hope of getting out.


	19. Chapter 19

**Rebbie444 - thanks, glad you think so! :D**

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18 Harry's POV

Days passed and I still couldn't figure out how to get out here, and Dad was getting closer by the day to enrolling at some school or other. He was determined to 'fix me' and have me acting to his high standards again, and no matter what I said, he refused to listen to me. He was not giving in on this, he was going to make me go somewhere and keep me away from Dougie, Tom and Danny for as long as he could.

Well, I wouldn't let him; I'd get out of this somehow. I wasn't sure how yet, but I would figure out how to escape from his clutches and never fall back into them again. I didn't want to be his perfect son, I wanted to be a drummer in a band, making music and doing mad things with my friends. I wanted to fall in love with who I wanted and date without having to worry about them being approved of, I wanted to dress how I liked and use slang and be _me._ But Dad didn't like who I wanted to be, he wanted another Thomas. Gentlemanly, well dressed, highly qualified with connections in high places. Basically, another him.

I couldn't do that though, I wasn't that person. I wanted piercings and tattoos, to not watch what I said or did, wear whatever I fancied and do as I pleased. There was nothing I wished for more than for him to understand that and let me go. It was all I wanted, for him to forget all this and let me get back to my boys, instead of hiding me like this.

It wasn't like I enjoyed disappointing him either; I did want to make him proud of me, and for him to love me. But he couldn't love me for the person I'd turned out to be, he wanted me to be someone wasn't, and I _couldn't_ do that.

I missed the band house, I missed my friends, and mostly, I missed Dougie. I missed having him curl up in my arms while we watched a film, his head resting on my chest as we slept, his little hands curled in my own. The idea of him not coping through this haunted my dreams, and while Thomas had contact with the boys in secret, he couldn't always get me a phone call with them. He could pass messages between us, but it wasn't the same.

All I knew was that Dougie was okay enough to text him, and that he had told my brother to tell me that he loved me. That wasn't good enough! None of it was good enough! Why couldn't I have understanding parents who let me date who I wanted?! Why did they have to disapprove of everything I did? I was a f*cking adult, I could do what I wanted!

Somehow, I was going to get out of here, I was going to escape and never go back; my parents couldn't do anything about it if I left. I was a legal adult, and if they tried to get me back, they were technically kidnapping, which was _illegal._ And there was no way they were going to risk their precious reputation by getting arrested for trying to force their son into something against his will. I'd escape, and avoid this house forever; nobody would get me back here again, not until my parents proved themselves to be nice people who respected my wishes.

Until then, they would have to deal with me never coming home or even daring to phone them. They could deal with me being happy in their own bitter way, I wouldn't lose any sleep over it, because I would be _happy,_ and with people who didn't want to change any part of me. My best friends wouldn't treat me like some slave or insolent child; they'd welcome me home with open arms, and love me just as I was. We'd travel and be happy, and no parent could take me away from that.

All I had to do was figure out a way to escape, and for that I needed to watch the security, find it's weak points, the times when it wasn't manned, the areas the cameras didn't cover, the times I wasn't guarded. I would have just requested to leave for a trip out with Thomas or Katherine, but wasn't allowed out in fear of that happening, so now I had to get creative. And over the years, sneaking around behind Fletch's back and pranking the boys had taught me a lot. Oh yes, I'd figure a way out, all I needed was a little time to figure it out. But not too much time, or I'd end up in whatever school Dad was preparing, and I dreaded how that would end.


	20. Chapter 20

19 Dougie's POV

 _I raced through the forest, while trying to tred carefully and not alert anyone to the fact that I was here. It was midnight and everyone was in bed, but who knew if someone was patrolling, or wandering around? I couldn't be caught,_ _ **we**_ _couldn't be caught. This was our only chance to see each other, we had to be careful._

 _The forest was huge, and it was hard to find where I was going, there were so many identical trees and unwalked paths. I got lost twice, but eventually found the opening I had been looking for. It was only a small clearing, but it was big enough for me and Harry to hold each other, and that was all I needed. Our lonely hearts needed to be joined together, they couldn't stand to be apart any further._

 _Harry was already standing there, his back currently to me. He was hunched over slightly... that wasn't right. Harry didn't slouch or hunch over, he stood tall and proud._

 _"Harry?" I whispered, my torch not providing enough light for me to see him properly._

 _Slowly, Harry turned round, and I couldn't believe my eyes. Harry looked_ _ **awful,**_ _his face bruised, lip split, cradling his arm close to his chest._

 _"Harry what happened?! Who did this to you?" I rushed over to him, hesitantly running my hands over him to figure out what happened to him._

 _"Who do you think? Dad did it. He's so angry Dougie,_ _ **so**_ _angry. He isn't going to let me go, and he isn't going to make it easy for me to get out either. Every time I try he does this to me. He's going to stop at nothing to keep us apart." Harry leant into my hands, looking hopeless._

 _"But he can't! I love you, I love you so much, I won't stop fighting for you." I cried, heart breaking at the sight of my boy in so much pain. All for falling in love, who did this to their son because he had fallen in love?_

 _"And I won't stop fighting for you either. I'll get out of here, I promise. I'll find you again." Harry leant our heads together, the two of us taking a second to breathe each other in._

 _BANG._

 _Harry stumbled backwards, his wounded arm soon turning red with blood._

 _"Harry! Harry no! Stay with me, stay with me!" I cried out, grabbing him as he dropped to the floor._

 _But it was too late. Harry was dead by the time I caught him._

 _"If my son won't obey me, then he doesn't deserve to live."_

I woke up screaming, the tangled sheets restricting my movement as I scrambled out of the bed, heaving in breath.

"Dream, dream, just a dream. Not real, couldn't be real, not real." I chanted to myself, shivering uncontrollably. That dream, that dream had been so scary, the thought of Harry dying because of this... I couldn't, I physically couldn't even think of it. Not my Harry, never my Harry. He couldn't leave me like that; he couldn't end this by getting killed!

"Dougie what happened?!" Tom ran in, Danny skidding into him.

"N-Nightmare. I-I had a nightmare." I whimpered to myself, "H-Harry d-died. His d-dad, he, he killed him. He, he died." Tears ran down my cheeks as I explained, my chest feeling so tight I could hardly breathe. Just the thought of Harry, my precious Harry, dying because of this... I couldn't. I couldn't even bare to think of it.

"Oh Doug, I'm so sorry." Danny crouched next to me, allowing me to fall into his arms and sob in fear of this actually happening. We didn't know what Harry's dad would do to him if he didn't start behaving; we had _no idea_ what was going to happen! We had nothing, nothing to help, nothing to go on, absolutely nothing to do with anything!

"It wasn't real Doug, none of it was. Harry is as safe as possible. Fletch told us he was physically fine, didn't he? So he's not getting hurt, which is a good start. And his dad wouldn't hurt him either, not like you dreamt. For one, he does love his son, in his own weird way." Tom held my hand, speaking in the calm voice he used when I was having a panic attack.

"Harry needs to come home before his dad does turn on him!" I needed him home before anything truly bad happened. He couldn't stay where he was, he needed to come home!

"I know, and he will. We all just have to think of something... We'll talk to Thomas tomorrow, he's good with plans, maybe he can come up with something for us." Tom smiled weakly, "Now come on, how about you come to bed with us for a while? It looks like it'll be another long day tomorrow and Harry will not be pleased if we've let you pass out." The joke fell flat, but I appreciated it a bit.


	21. Chapter 21

20 Harry's POV

Making it look like I wasn't checking the house's security systems out was difficult. I had eyes on me constantly, and I couldn't keep on coming up with excuses on why I was wandering around. Dad was getting suspicious, giving me the side eye whenever I was somewhere I shouldn't have been. It was getting worrying actually; Dad could have caught onto what I was doing. If he figured out what I was doing, he'd go mental and change the security system or something, just to make sure I was kept here. And I was determined to make sure that wouldn't happen.

But, I managed to get a good idea of where each of our cameras were around the house and garden, as well as where the guards stood. Now all I needed was to find out when the guards changed, and then make a plan combining this knowledge. Obviously, I couldn't figure out when the guards changed myself, as I wasn't allowed out, but I could send Thomas or Katherine...

So that was how I ended up alone for an evening with only my parents for company. Thomas and Katherine had gone out to 'business meetings' and weren't due to be back for a while, which left me, Mum and Dad alone. For an entire evening. There were not words to describe how awkward it was, the tension could be cut with a knife. I didn't _dare_ say a word, not without anybody to back me up or placate anybody. I had to will myself to not shake a little; I was so scared of anything Dad would say.

Currently, Dad was being quiet, and Mum was following suit, so now we were sitting in silence and eating. Again, another home cooked, healthy meal with the best ingredients. It was nice, obviously, but I missed takeaway food. Here, we didn't eat anything but home cooked food made with the best ingredients. At home in the band house, we ate takeaway practically every night. Pizzas, Chinese, Indian, anything we fancied, we bought it. Sometimes we cooked, but the most we did was pasta because it was easy. Everything we ate was shop bought, we didn't care about cooking, we just liked to eat.

Here it was so different, the culture shock wasn't pleasant. I missed home, where things like this didn't matter. We didn't even care much for manners, we talked with our mouths full, we laughed, we joked, hell half the time we didn't even bother getting out of our pyjamas to eat! Here we had to be dressed properly, speaking only when we were not actually eating, and Lord help us if we dared say anything 'inappropriate' at the table. I _hated_ it, where was the fun in this? Where was the joy, the family bonding? I didn't want to bond as a family right now, but damn it this was suffocating!

"Harry if you want to say something, just say it. There is no point stewing pointlessly." Dad spat out, glaring at me like he was daring me to say a word.

"Nothing, wasn't going to say anything." I mumbled, stabbing a carrot.

"Mumbling is not an attractive quality Harry." Mum chastised between mouthfuls.

Because everything around here was about _attractive qualities_ and not actual substance or happiness. Who cared if anybody was happy as long as our reputation was maintained and nobody thought that I was a _disgrace_ to the family for daring to be happy.

"Don't roll your eyes either young man!" Mum warned again, only her voice changing, the rest of her still composed.

"I-" I started to speak.

"Don't talk back to us either. We raised you better than to talk back to us." Dad growled, looking almost offended, despite the fact that I _hadn't said anything._

"I didn't say anything!" I defended myself, because how the hell was he supposed to know what I was going to say before I actually said it? He didn't! Therefore he shouldn't be shouting at me!

"You were going to, and I won't stand for you being disrespectful to us. We are your parents and you will treat us with the respect we deserve." Dad hissed, his face going red.

"How do you know I'm not going to be respectful if you don't let me finish my sentence? And how can you expect me to be respectful to you if you don't treat me with respect first? Why should I be nice to someone who is only rude to me, even when I've done nothing wrong?!" I tried not to shout, refusing to lower myself to this level and make this worse.

"Because I know that those boys you have been with have corrupted you! You're now rude and insolent, all of our hard work raising you has gone out of the window!" Dad shouted, rising from the table.

"It has not! Nobody has _corrupted_ me; nobody has made me rude or anything! I'm exactly the same as I was when I left here; the only difference is that I was _happy_ with the boys! You know why that is? They _listened_ to me! They cared about what I thought and didn't treat me like a prisoner!" I shouted back, hating Mum and Dad so much! What did they think they were doing?! How could they be so _stupid_ as to think that I was being corrupted by my _friends_ when they were the ones who wanted me to change?! It was ridiculous, I hated it!

" _We_ happen to be doing what is best for you! We are not taking you away from your studies or using you for your money! We love and care about you, we are keeping you away from those bad influences to keep you from getting yourself into trouble and becoming a delinquent like them!" Dad argued.

"They are not delinquents! They are my _friends_ and they don't want me for my money because we're all earning the same amount and we live together! I didn't want to study anymore, I wanted to be in a band because it's what I love doing and it's what I'm good at! Being with them makes me happy, when will you understand that?!" I felt my eyes tearing up in desperation.

It felt helpless, they didn't understand, and they never understood me! I was desperate for them to understand that Tom, Danny and Dougie were _not_ after our family money, or trying to turn me into some sort of criminal. They liked me as I was, I wasn't judged or anything, I was _loved._ That was what I wanted, for my parents to love me as I was and respect my wishes, instead of arguing with me constantly!


	22. Chapter 22

**I have found a wifi hotspot at my nan's, mwhahahaha!**

21 Dougie's POV

I woke up to the sound of my phone ringing, having to reach over the top of Danny to get to the phone on the cabinet. Danny barely even noticed, continuing to snore, his hand resting on my side, Tom's fingers twined with his.

"Hello?" I answered the call, rubbing sleep from my eyes.

"D-Dougie? Dougie can we talk please?" Harry whimpered, was he crying?! It sounded like he was crying!

"Harry what happened? Why are you crying?!" I sat up in a rush, though it wasn't going to get me nearer Harry at the time.

I quickly got off the bed, leaving my band mates to sleep. I didn't want to wake them; this was a conversation for just me and Harry, not a full band conference. Harry couldn't stand to be seen as anything but our strong drummer, he wouldn't appreciate this being overheard by everyone.

"I, I had another argument with my Dad. I-It was bad, and he won't stop arguing a-and being cruel. I can't take it anymore!" Harry cried, voice wavering all over the place as he spoke.

"Oh honey, I'm so sorry. What did he say?" I dreaded hearing what his dad had said this time. He was so cruel to us, and it was breaking Harry's heart to be subjected to all this, I wanted to hug him so badly, just hold him for hours and tell him that he was loved and we weren't going to judge him for anything.

"He, he told me that you, you were vermin, that you were _nothing_ compared to us. That you, you are only with me for my family money, you're all delinquents and that it was a mistake to ever trust me." Harry explained it all, sobbing down the phone, every word shattering my heart to pieces.

"I, I don't know what to say. I'm so sorry Harry, so, so sorry. If I could, I'd get you out. We're trying hard on our end, but it's so hard to come up with something. You just have to hold on honey for a little longer." I whispered, hating how I was losing my voice over this.

"I, I'm trying this end. T-Thomas and Katherine went out and are checking guard changes. We're planning an escape." Harry sniffed.

"Good, that's good. Are you with them now?" I asked, hoping he was, I didn't want him alone in this state. If I couldn't be there, the next best thing was his siblings.

"Yeah, Thomas is here. He's standing guard at the door." Harry answered, at least he had company. I couldn't stand the idea of him being alone right now, not while he was so upset.

"Good, I guess if you suddenly hang up I'll know why." I figured that the minute it sounded like their dad was coming close the call would end to avoid detection.

"Basically, yeah." Harry sighed, "Doug, could you, I don't know, talk to me for a bit? I miss you, and we haven't talked properly for a while."

"Of course I will, any requests of topic?" I used to talk to Harry at bedtime nearly every night. We used to discuss plans, sometimes our past, sometimes our future, and sometimes the maddest things just because we could.

"Tell me what the lizards are doing." Harry requested, and so I told him all about my pet lizards, Zukie and Jerry.

I told him everything I could think of, hoping it was enough to calm him down. Harry did find my voice calming usually, so it should do the trick again today if I did it right.

Slowly, Harry stopped making any noises associated with crying, his breathing slowing too until he was asleep, or at least nearing it.

There was a small shuffling sound. "It's me. Katherine is running interference with Daddy Dearest right now, telling him all about our fantastic meetings." Thomas sounded sarcastic, even he couldn't stand this happening, and he had always followed his dad's instructions to the letter.

"Hold him for me please." I wanted so badly to be the one holding my Harry; it killed me to be so far away, unable to talk to him properly.

"Way ahead of you. We're doing all we can to stop the arguments, but there isn't much we can do without making the situation worse." Thomas sighed, "I mean, we can't even take Harry out for a trip somewhere, he has to stay in the house all the time. He's barely allowed into the garden. Dad's being a paranoid b*stard, and Mum's not exactly stopping him. If I could, I'd bring Harry straight to you, but I can't at the moment."

"It's okay, we'll think of something. Just keep us posted on things, so we know what's going on." I wanted this over, it was getting ridiculous. They weren't even letting Harry out of his actual _house;_ they were literally trapping him inside his own house. What kind of parents did that, no matter how angry they were at their child?

"Will do. I'll look after Harry; make sure he isn't too badly affected by all this alright?" Thomas promised, I was so glad that he was there as much as he was. He could have left after the party and let whatever was happening continue without getting involved, but he was staying and risking himself to look after Harry. I appreciated more than I could ever describe.

"Thank you, it means a lot." I smiled a small bit, even though he couldn't see it.

"Just doing what a brother should. If we come up with a plan or anything, I'll let you know. Sit tight, we'll have something for you soon I'm sure. Now I have to go. Talk to you again tomorrow." Thomas hung up.

I leant against a wall, taking a few deep breaths, unsure on what to do now. My boyfriend was trapped inside his own parent's house with barely any means of escape, being brought to tears by his own father. I couldn't believe that this had happened, it didn't feel like it could be a real situation, to sit day in and day out, worrying about my boyfriends well being, hoping he'd somehow escape. All I could do to help him was sit and wait for his phone call, hoping for some sort of idea of what was going on with him, and make an attempt to help him in whatever way I could.


	23. Chapter 23

22 Harry's POV

I woke up in my brother's bed, the shower going in the next room. Carefully, I rolled out of bed and wandered into the bathroom, not caring about decency, we were brothers, we'd seen everything, no need to worry about seeing anything untoward. Just like at home with the boys.

As the band, we had clicked so quickly and lost all embarrassment within two months of living together, I remembered feeling so relaxed and free when I realised how quick that had happened. It had been like I had been freed from my old life, that it wouldn't come back and stifle me again. I still wasn't over how wrong I had been.

"Morning little brother!" Thomas sing-songed over the shower.

"Morning." I mumbled, starting to clean my teeth.

"Feeling any better this morning? Cause if you are, I have info on our guards." Thomas stepped out the cubical in a towel, rubbing his hair with a second.

"Tell me." I said around the toothbrush.

"When we got back, we were coming just as the guards changed. That was at 2am, now we're going to go out a few more times, just to make sure that they change at the same time every day. Then, I reckon if me and Katherine cause a distraction while they're preparing to change, you could sneak out and jump the fence without them noticing." Thomas explained, that sounded like a good plan.

"Or you could steal me away in the boot of your car, if they're changing round they aren't exactly going to bother checking you over." I suggested.

"Also a good idea. Both are dangerous though, we could get caught if we make one wrong move." Thomas started chewing on his lip.

"I know, but it's the only plan we have that could work. Everything else is either far too risky or impossible thanks to the security around here." I sighed again.

"Yeah, we're lucky there's no cameras in each room." Thomas agreed, "Are you sure you don't just want to wait it out until Dad sends you to some school that has less security, so you can run away from there with less risk?"

"No, I don't want to stay here for longer than I have to. You saw the aftermath of what happened last night," and I hated myself a bit for breaking down so badly, and probably scaring Dougie half to death in the process, "I can't stay here for much longer, not without completely losing it. I need to go home, wear my own clothes, be who I want to be. And more importantly, I need to be with my boys, and soon. Our band is so important to us; I can't be away for that long without causing suspicion. We're lucky that at the moment we're having some time off, but soon we're supposed to be starting back up again, if I'm not there, it's going to look weird."

"But if you do go out with the boys again, Dad's going to know exactly where you are." Thomas warned, looking concerned.

"Let him, he can't get to me when I'm with the boys on a promo tour. We're surrounded by security all the time, and our house will no doubt receive a security boost because of this too. He won't be able to get me back into his clutches at home, so I don't care if he knows where I am." I was safe with the boys; I knew it for a fact.

"But what if he lashes out and leaks to the press that you're with Dougie? He could do that you know, to ruin your reputation or something." Thomas asked, holding onto my arm like it would make me see sense.

"Like I said, let him. Our fans love us as we are; half of them suspect something is happening between me and Dougie anyway. They won't care if we're together, the press will be another matter, but we'll get through them too if we must. Either way, it'll be better than being stuck here. Anything is." I wanted out of here, by any means necessary. If Dad decided to leak some secrets to the press to get me back, then so be it. I didn't care; at least I'd be with the people I wanted to be with. Together we could take care of anything he threw at us, but we had to be _together_ to do it. Being apart wasn't an option, I was going home, consequences be damned.


	24. Chapter 24

23 Danny's POV

"We're going to have to come up with a cover story to explain where Harry is." Tom sighed over breakfast one morning, stirring his cereal round instead of actually eating it.

"We have another two weeks until we're back to interviews and stuff, he could be back by then." Dougie replied, the poor boy had taken to believing that Harry would be back to us very soon, and would state it at every possibly opportunity. I wished I had his kind of hope, but at the same time, I didn't, the more time that went by, the more painful that hope would be. We'd already had found him several times crying by himself, I didn't really fancy that getting worse.

"We don't know that, Thomas hasn't told us about a plan being ready to put into action. To be safe, we should come up with a cover story now, so if Harry's not back yet, or safe to come out with us, we can keep what's happening secret." Tom explained, he did have a point; we couldn't exactly go out and do interviews or whatever without the fact that Harry was missing being brought up. We had to be prepared, but what could we say?

Could we say that Harry was ill? That couldn't run for too long without it looking really serious. Maybe we could say he had a family emergency, those could take a _long_ while to sort themselves out, and it was sort of true. It was a family emergency to his parents, to everybody else; it wasn't an emergency, more a complete and utter overreaction.

"Fine, because we need to be prepared, just in case. Though we won't need it really, because Harry's going to be back soon." Dougie insisted, shovelling the last bit of pancake (treat from Tom, to cheer us up) into his mouth.

"Well if he's not, we can't say that he's just ill, in case he takes a while to get back to us. That'll draw attention to him and make his 'illness' look really serious, which we don't want." Tom sometimes amazed me with how often he was on the same wavelength as me.

"But maybe we could say he had a family emergency and had to rush home. That would work, because it's partially the truth, and if someone see's him at his parent's house, it won't look weird. And family emergencies can take a while to sort out, so that will cover a possibly long absence." I continued for my boyfriend, eating the last strawberry from the pancake smiley face.

"Did you plan that?" Dougie narrowed his eyes at us; admittedly, we _had_ flowed together quite well there...

"Nope." I answered truthfully.

"We live on a similar wavelength." Tom shrugged, smiling at me. I reached out and squeezed his knee.

"Too many years together." I felt his hand rest on top of mine.

"I don't mind as long as I don't start liking football." Tom teased, playful smile on his face.

"And I don't start liking all that geeky Star Wars stuff." I continued on, leaning closer until we kissed.

"You guys are gross." Dougie rolled his eyes, "So we're going with family emergency excuse then? Sounds like our best option."

"Yeah, I think its best. I'll run it by Fletch later, see what he thinks." Tom nodded, "Then I guess we'll work out the finer details with him, and then it's a waiting game."

"I don't like waiting." Dougie mumbled, leaning against the table, hands shoved deep in his pockets.

"None of us do. But Harry and Thomas know their house better than we do, leaving the bulk planning up to them. And if they need anything from us, they know where to contact us." I wanted to help as much as Dougie did, but I couldn't help but feel like escape plans should have been left to Harry and Thomas, they knew the house better, and the surrounding area. We would be planning blind, which could only spell disaster.

"But Harry's parents are making him _cry,_ they're _hurting him!_ And we're just sitting here, doing f*ck all but waiting around, talking about cover stories instead of helping him out of that hell hole!" Dougie growled, face twisting into a look of anger I hadn't seen on his face since the height of his parents' divorce. The look scared me, to see the anger in there. Dougie didn't give into anger much, he panicked first generally. To see him _angry,_ it was worrying to say the least.

This needed to end soon; Harry needed to get back here, if not just for Dougie's sake.


	25. Chapter 25

24 Harry's POV

Soon, between me, Thomas and Katherine, we made up an effective plan to escape. It involved Thomas creating a distraction and Katherine driving out of the gate while I was in the boot during the night time guard change. The plan was frankly ridiculous, and if it worked I'd be _shocked,_ but it was all we had. I had to get out of this place before Dad got any worse, and before it became obvious to the public that I wasn't around. I had to go, and soon.

Time was of the essence, so we planned to get out on a day when our parents were out, so the only people keeping an eye on me were my siblings and the guards. We'd worked out that they slacked off during the night, not bothering to check where I was because they assumed I was asleep. Mostly they wandered off and didn't even bother to stand outside my door. With Thomas distracting the guards, who were already changing, me and Katherine could run down to the car unseen.

All we had to do was inform the boys and wait for our day to arrive, Thomas had a distraction planned already. I would have asked what it was, but thought it better to stay in the dark about that. It felt safer to not know the entire plan, Katherine swore I'd watched far too many spy movies, but I didn't care. Better safe than sorry. All I needed to know was when Thomas was acting, so I knew to be ready.

The day came; the boys had been informed that they'd be expecting me by 5am, and to be on standby to get me in the house. They were ready; it was all just a waiting game now. Everyone had their roles, they all had to play them to the letter, nobody could screw up. No guard could be lagging behind; the camera security team couldn't glance at any camera looking at us instead of the other side of the building. My God putting it that way this sounded like a suicide mission, it couldn't all go right for us could it? Something had to go wrong; surely something would go wrong...

I started feeling nervous, leaving my short note on my bed _'bye parents, I'm not coming back and you can't make me. I'm sorry you can't accept my friends and my lifestyle, but they make me happy. You want to make me into something I'm not and I can't take that, I'm sorry. Maybe one day we can make up, but not until you accept who I am. Hopefully see you sometime, Harry.'_

Thunder cracked across the sky, almost deafening, rain hitting the glass sounding like gun shots. I looked to Katherine, who looked ridiculous calm right now, her ear pressed to the door, listening for the guard change.

"We have an emergency! Escapee on the North side of the building!" a radio crackled outside the door, footsteps running down the corridor.

"Ready little brother?" she asked, smiling a little.

"As I ever will be." I nodded, watching my sister count down from five on her seconds, before opening the door and running through the South side of the house.

I chased after her, keeping to the shadowy, rarely used stairs. We were silent as we ran, and I was suddenly thankful for the carpeted floors to help us stay under the radar until we reached the empty garage. Only Thomas and Katherine's cars were inside, Katherine's boot already opened and ready for my dive inside.

The door slammed on top of me, plunging me into the dark, yet I couldn't bring myself to worry about that. As long as the car moved and got out of the gates without a check I'd be fine. I silently prayed that all the guards would be busy either changing over or on the other side of the house, looking for me. If Thomas was as good an actor as I thought he was, he could distract the guards long enough for us to get out by pointing them in the completely opposite direction.

The engine rumbled to life, the car started to move. I daren't move a muscle, barely daring to breathe in case someone noticed something outside. But they couldn't surely hear anything over the sound of the thunder and lightning? Surely not... I wasn't taking any chances though. I was silent as the car drove down the drive, stopping briefly at the gate.

No sound of talking. No sound of anything. I strained my ears, getting nothing in return. What was going on out there?!


	26. Chapter 26

25 Dougie's POV

I paced the front room, periodically looking out of the window to see any signs of Katherine's car. Tom was manning the phone and Danny was watching from the top of the house, checking for signs of anything.

"We definitely have the right day, don't we?" I asked for the fifth time this hour, chewing on my lip.

"Definitely have the right day; we got the text this morning saying that they were moving out tonight. We also got a text saying that we could expect them to arrive at 5am. It's 4am; we still have an hour to go." Tom repeated, throwing the phone to me so I could see the texts again.

"But we should have gotten word by now right? They would have texted us to let us know where they are! Surely they would have texted to let us know that they'd gotten out alright!" why wouldn't they text? They would text to let us know they were on their way!

"Maybe they're racing here to not waste time." Tom offered, catching the phone as I threw it back at him.

"Harry isn't driving! He could text easily!" I was sure that Harry would text us! He wouldn't leave us hanging like this!

"What if they got caught? What if they couldn't get out?" I whispered, this was our only chance, if they got caught, they'd never have another chance to get out! Harry's dad, he'd increase security and never let Harry out of sight for a minute! And who knew what he'd do to punish him for even trying to escape?!

What was happening over there?! I had to know! I was desperate to know right now! How couldn't we know!? Why was Harry not texting us right this second to tell us he was on his way?! This was driving me insane with worry, it was taking _everything_ I had to not have a panic attack or burst into tears. I wanted Harry home and safe, where I could take care of him and make sure he wasn't going to get into trouble here. I couldn't stand him being so far away; I needed him here, safe and sound, within touching distance.

"Doug, breathe, it's okay. They're on their way; they're probably busy driving or something to text. We can't worry right now, we should only worry if it gets to six in the morning and they're still not here. They said they'd be here by five, they'll be here by five." Tom wrapped his arms around me; I buried my face in his chest, hoping against hope that he was right. If he wasn't right and this had all gone wrong, I didn't think I could take it.

We waited for another hour, time ticking by agonisingly slowly. All the time, I paced and checked the window, listening for the sound of a car, or Danny's shout that he saw one, desperate for Harry to come home. He had to come home today, I needed him home. _Please come home, please, please come home._

"I see a car!" Danny's shout made my jump at 5.23am, "Blacked out BMW, looks like Katherine's!"

Footsteps pounded down the stairs, all of us racing to the door and yanking it open, watching the car pull into our driveway. The side door opened and Harry stepped out, my heart stopped at the site of him.

Harry looked tired and pale, hair messed up and his clothing rumpled. But he held himself up with his usual confidence, a smile on his face when he saw me.

"HARRY!" I ran into him, throwing myself into his arms.

Harry picked me up and spun me round, my arms and legs wrapping around his body as my head buried itself in his shoulder, hands tangling in his shirt and hair.

"You're home, you're home. You made it home. Don't leave me again; please don't ever leave me again!" I cried, the relief of having him here with me almost palpable. He was _here,_ and alive and safe. My Harry was _home_ with me again, I had him in my arms, I had him back.

"Of course I am. I'll always make it back to you Doug, I promise to always make it back to you." Harry promised, clutching me close, the both of us hanging on for dear life to each other, refusing to let go. Harry was _back,_ I wasn't letting him go ever again.


	27. Chapter 27

26 Harry's POV

I held on to Dougie like my life depended on it, finally feeling like I could breathe again because I was with him. I was out of the house, away from my parents, I was _home._ With the boy I loved the most and my two best friends, not being judged or told what to do and who to be, accepted and loved, just like I had always wanted.

"It's okay, it's okay honey. I'm here, I'm here now." I whispered into Dougie's ear, tangling my hands in his blonde hair, hair I feared I'd never see again. In that moment, I wanted to touch all of him, commit him to memory, make up for all of the time we had recently lost. But all I could do was stand in our driveway, holding him up in my arms, whispering promises and kissing his face as he cried into my shoulder.

"I-I missed you, I missed you so much." Dougie cried, his hold on me almost painful, yet I didn't care, I couldn't have cared less about that. He was _here,_ in my arms, after so many long weeks I had my boy back.

I was so focused on Dougie I nearly missed and Tom and Danny wrapping their arms around me too, the four of us ending up a tangled mass of limbs that none of us cared to decipher.

"I missed you too, I missed all of you. I never stopped thinking about you, and never gave up thinking that I would get back to you." I kissed Dougie's hair again, standing there until Katherine pushed us all inside and left, figuring she should get home before Dad figured out I was gone.

"What happened tonight? Why didn't you phone?" Dougie asked after my sister had left, looking at me like I was going to be ripped from his hands at any second.

"Dad took away my phone and we left Katherine's back at the house. We didn't want to risk him looking up the GPS and tracking where we were going, I would have texted you the whole way back if I could, but it was impossible to even try it." I explained, running a hand over Dougie's little face. I couldn't stop touching him, found it near impossible to stop. It had been so _long_ since I had been near him; it felt like years, I wasn't going to waste time now.

"Your Dad tracks your _phone GPS_?" Tom raised an eyebrow, like the idea was insane.

"Yeah, he didn't used to, but then I was deemed 'untrustworthy' and so everyone suffered." I shrugged, tearing my eyes away from Dougie to look at Tom. He looked exhausted, everybody did, but Tom looked more exhausted from the whole ordeal. I could imagine that he was the one trying to hold everybody together during this whole thing, keeping our youngest two from spiralling out of control in some way or other. I'd thank him later on somehow, I wasn't sure how yet, but I would think of something, I was sure.

"What else did he do to you?" Danny asked from my other side. He was paler than usual, finger nails bitten down so much there was hardly anything left.

"Tried to enrol me into a school to finish my education, took away half my clothes that he thought were too beneath me to wear, shouted at me at every opportunity he got, generally was an absolute a*se to me." I left out a bit, tried to make it sound nonchalant so I didn't worry them too badly. I didn't want them worrying now that I was back here, I wanted us all to calm down and move on.

"Ouch." Tom commented, squeezing my arm in sympathy.

"Wasn't too bad, I got to exercise my arguing muscles again which was fun," _if fun here meant absolute hell and drove me nuts,_ "Wasn't like he was abusing me or anything. I still got regular meals and all that. He just tried to make me into another perfect son. It was annoying and tedious at most." I knew Dougie wasn't going to fall for that, but we would talk about my phone call to him later I expected.

Right now though, I wanted to go back to normal, forget any of this happened.

"Hey, I don't suppose any of you guys fancy a really early breakfast do you? I've been banned from any type of good cereal and forced to use proper manners for too long." I smiled when I got three enthusiastic yeses and dragged into the kitchen. It was good to be home.


	28. Chapter 28

27 Dougie's POV

To celebrate Harry coming home, we cooked a fry up for breakfast. Harry had said that just wanted to eat some cereal out of a box, but we wanted to do something special for him. He was _home,_ that deserved at least a special thing! We rarely ate fry ups anyway, and Harry had been forced to eat _healthy food_ for weeks, he needed some proper food in him again!

All the while it was cooking, I held onto my boyfriend, arms around his waist, head on his shoulder. I wanted to hold on for as long as I could, reassure myself that he was really here. My Harry was home, I could barely believe that he was, it had been so long, he'd been away for weeks and weeks. Weeks spent worrying and scared of what was happening to him, if we would ever see him again. I was so happy to have him back here, safe in my arms. It had been so scary during those weeks, but we could relax a little, because Harry was _home._

"How have you been Doug? You look exhausted." Harry asked, rubbing his hand over my arm.

"Worried, but we managed. And it's all okay now, because you're home." I smiled, knowing I was looking at Harry like he was had put the sun in the sky, but I just couldn't believe he was _here._ I had been fighting giving up hope for so long, even though I had been saying over and over that he'd be home soon, I hadn't completely believed it. But he was here, right in front of me. I wasn't going to be over this for a while.

"Aw, of course I am. I wasn't staying at my parents forever, I couldn't take being there. It was like; it was almost like being in a prison if I'm honest. And of course I'd come back, I missed you too much." Harry smiled, kissing my forehead.

"You think you got away safe?" Tom asked, pushing sausages around in the pan.

"Well we distracted the guards pretty well. They were on the other side of the building when me and Katherine got escaped. Dad was out with Mum, so they couldn't see us either." Harry shook his head, pulling me close.

"Good, how did you manage to distract all the guards?" Tom plated up, handing us one each.

"Thomas told them they saw me escaping the other way. He got them all searching the fields out the back, and the rest were changing shifts so they were all not paying attention at the gates. All Katherine had to do was manually open the gate and drive off before the guards noticed. It took some nerve and a lot of planning, but we got through... and kinda broke the speed limit until we were far away from the house." Harry cheekily bit his lip, making us all laugh.

"Sounds all a bit like a spy movie." I commented.

"Felt like it too, running through those corridors in darkness, hiding in the boot of the car until we knew we were safe. To be honest, it was all quite exciting and I wouldn't mind doing it again." Harry poked me in the side playfully. I laughed and pushed him away, grabbing his hands.

"Well let's not make it a habit! I'd rather not go through this again." Tom laughed too, eating a forkful of egg.

"Don't worry; I'm not making that mistake again. I'm not going anywhere near my parents again, so you don't have to worry about me having to escape some hell hole for a second time." Harry promised.

"Fletch is updating security too, so they can't get close to you either. They wouldn't dare get too close while we're in public, so we're safe in that respect." Danny joined in through a mouthful.

"I heard, that's going to be a big help too. Though I don't think they'd do something as public as trying to kidnap me or something. They're far too concerned with their reputation, doing something as public as that would wreck it. What I wouldn't put past them is leaking the news of our relationship and then probably disowning me. Being disowned isn't an issue for me, but leaking our relationship to the press could cause a problem for us in the long run." Harry sighed, squeezing my hand.

"We've had these conversations with Fletch and he's already planning some damage control in case it's needed. There's not much we can do if that happens apart from ride the storm as best as we can." I squeezed back.

"It won't be the ideal coming out story you would have wanted, but if it happens, it happens. Currently we're just going to have to deal with whatever comes, as it comes. Right now, shall we just focus on the fact that you're back?" Tom smiled again.

"Yeah, and I for one am ridiculously happy about that." I grinned at my boyfriend.

"You're not the only one." Harry grinned too, leaning in to give me a kiss, something I had _sorely_ missed recently.


	29. Chapter 29

28 Harry's POV

In the following days, I caught up with sleep, rediscovered all the clothes I enjoyed wearing, found out everything that had been going on around here, ate cereal out of the box, and generally enjoyed being accepted for the person I was. There were times where I was sure I was seconds from Dad shouting at me for something, his shadow hanging behind me like a ghost. But I ignored it, I hadn't heard anything from him since I left, probably because I had gotten a new phone and he didn't know the band house number. There hadn't been any surveillance around the house, and I hadn't gone out to see if there was anybody following me.

According to Thomas and Katherine, who had stayed around for a few hours the next morning to look innocent (the guards actually believed that Katherine had gone out searching for me in the surrounding area, and Thomas looked innocent too somehow... my siblings should have grown up to be spies instead of bankers and lawyers), said that Mum and Dad were _p*ssed_ at me for leaving, but weren't immediately on the war path. As in, they weren't immediately setting out to haul me from this house, which we all counted as a blessing.

The real test would be when we left for our first bit of promotion. My parents weren't completely ignorant as to my whereabouts, they knew where we were making appearances, they could easily try and get me back there. Luckily, we had extra security, so they couldn't actually get close enough to cause harm or grab me. But the idea of what they could do was a worrying one. Especially if they forewent the obvious and went straight to the press with something.

Though if they would or not was a mystery. Letting out a big story like the fact that me and Dougie were in a relationship could wreck the family reputation. Not because I was gay, that nobody had a problem with surprisingly enough, but because I was dating someone of 'lower stature.'

I was dating Dougie, who you could tell wasn't in the least bit 'posh' just by looking at him, who made rude jokes and rode a skateboard everywhere, who had a tattoo of Neil Armstrong sticking his middle finger up at an alien on the moon. _That_ would be the reputation ruining bit. Every other family we knew, their kids had grown up and were either dating or marrying people like them - well spoken, tattoo free, drove expensive cars, and were generally carbon copies of each other. To have it come out that I, the Judd family's youngest son, was dating a 'common boy' would be a scandal, something my parents may not have wanted to come out so their reputations stayed intact.

So the question was, what were they going to do to me? What were were they going to do to get me back under their thumbs and in line again? I dreaded to think, I really was not looking forward to finding out...

But, couldn't think of that now, we had a TV interview to do. Time to smarten up (slightly), forget what was going on at home, and get back to being what we enjoyed most. It was something I had missed sorely over the past few weeks, I was going to enjoy this, forget everything that was going on and get back to being Harry from McFly, not Harry wayward son of the Judd's. I could do this, it wasn't going to be too difficult, nothing we hadn't done a thousand times over.

"Ready?" Dougie grabbed my hand by the door, smile on his face.

"More than ever." I smiled back, squeezing his hand.

With that, we stepped outside and into a car, driving off the to the TV station. While we drove, I looked around as much as I could without drawing attention, noting that there were no signs of my parent's cars, or of anybody else following us for that matter. We were safe for the journey, nobody was out to get us, get _me_ back.

That was, until we turned up at the station. I looked up as we turned the corner and saw a car. Not just any car, a _very_ familiar car I had seen in the garage and driving in and out of the estate for weeks. And it wasn't Thomas or Katherine's either.

It was Dad's.


	30. Chapter 30

29 Dougie's POV

"Guys, that's my Dad's car." Harry nodded his head towards an expensive looking silver car.

"What? Are you sure?" I looked over to the vehicle, only seeing the outline of someone at the driver's seat.

"Positive, that's Dad's. And he's still inside." Harry paled, hands tightening their grip on mine.

"How the hell did he find us? And what is he doing here in the first place?!" Tom looked between the car and my drummer.

"It's been known for weeks that you've been doing an interview today, he could have easily found us like that." Fletch answered, "And I think we all know why he's here." He looked towards Harry.

"Well he's not getting me back! I got out for a reason; he isn't going to get his hands on me this time!" Harry panicked; holding onto the seat like that would stop him from going anywhere.

"You said before he wouldn't make a scene trying to grab you back, do you think he would now that he's here?" I whispered, I didn't want this! Harry had only just come back; he couldn't be taken from us again! Not like this! Never like this!

"No, he wouldn't dare. Not with the press outside." That was true, there were several photographers outside, waiting for a photo opportunity with us, "I think, I think he's trying to be intimidating, warning us that he knows where we are."

"Well it's working pretty damn well." Danny glared at the car.

"Looks like we have two options here, run away scared, coming back another day. Or we can go out there and show him that we're not afraid of him." Fletch turned to fully face us, giving us a look that said he would respect whichever decision we chose.

"I want to go out there; he can't get to us here, not in front of all these people. All he can do is watch us be _happy_ together, so I say go out." Harry answered, face set with determination. He was stubborn too, so once he said that, he really did mean it. Harry wasn't going to back down out of this any time soon. He was determined to get out there and show his dad exactly how happy he was with us, that he didn't need to be controlled or changed to be perfect.

"If you're going out, I'm going out." I wouldn't leave Harry by himself though, he needed support. I had half caused this mess; I was going to stand by him until the end.

"I'll stay with you." Danny nodded.

"So will I." Tom agreed, "Let's kill him with kindness, or more importantly, indifference." He smiled.

"Show him that he doesn't control me, that he has had no effect on me whatsoever. I'm still happy in a band, doing what I love, and I don't need his approval to do it." Harry grinned slightly evilly.

"Exactly, now get out there boys; sitting in here only makes it look like we're scared." Fletch opened the door, all of us following him out of the minivan and into the courtyard-type area.

We followed usual suit, standing together in a line, arms around each other, all smiles as the press took photos. I stuck close to Harry, as I always did. Standing in front of the press had never been comfortable for me, all the flashing cameras, all eyes on us; it freaked me out a little. It used to make me so nervous that I was in danger of passing out (and had done in the past too, though luckily always inside the building). In recent years I'd gotten better at it, but I still couldn't help but feel quite fearful, and so wanted to cling to my boyfriend.

What made it worse was knowing that this time, Harry's dad was so near to us, watching, or waiting for _something_ to happen. I was scared to think of what he was doing, scared of what he could possibly be up to. I didn't even want to think of what it could be; I dreaded to imagine what exactly that man was up to. He'd already basically kidnapped Harry and held him against his will in an attempt to make him 'the perfect son' so the idea that he could do something worse was terrifying. Though what could be worse? Could there actually be a worse thing to do? I didn't think so...

But knowing he was _there_ was scary; I didn't know what he was doing! He could have been watching us, seeing how we behaved, judging how much we were 'ruining' his son, looking for weaknesses to use against us. Oh God this was _horrible!_ I wanted him to go away and leave us alone! He shouldn't have been here! He needed to go!


	31. Chapter 31

30 Harry's POV

"Shh Dougie, shhh. We're safe." I whispered surreptitiously into Dougie's ear, noticing how pale he'd gone, and just how much he was leaning on me. It was like most of his strength had been sapped out of him, and now he had to lean on me to stand up right. I knew those symptoms well in him, if we didn't get him inside soon, he'd have a panic attack. And if he had a panic attack, I felt like I would join him, I didn't know what my dad was here for, didn't want to know either. Knowing that he was _right over there_ was freaking me out; I wanted him gone, this instant, far away from here. I didn't feel safe.

"How about if we go in now? It's a bit windy today." I suggested, hoping Tom and Danny got the message.

"Yeah, I was thinking the same thing." Tom noticed my meaning, so we herded our boyfriends inside the building, away from photographers and dad's who were up to no good.

As quick as I could, I lead Dougie to our dressing room, wrapping my arms around him tight as the door slammed behind us.

"He... He was right there. He was _watching_ us or, or something." Dougie whispered, his hands gripping my t-shirt hard enough to nearly rip it.

"I know, but he can't do anything, all he can do is watch us. He's not going to risk making a scene; he's just trying to intimidate us so I come back to him. But he can't do that, we're stronger than he is, and he's powerless anyway. What can he do to us? Glare from a car? It's nothing Doug, we're completely safe, there is no need to worry." I kissed his hair, rubbing his back.

"But it's so _horrible_ knowing he's just outside, watching and _waiting_ for something!" Dougie shivered, "He can't take you away again, I need you, he can't take you away again."

"And he won't, because I won't let him. Dad doesn't have a leg to stand on; he's the one in the wrong here. We are the better people in this situation, and he doesn't want to make our family look 'worse' so he's not going to do anything." I promised, though I wasn't entirely sure I was telling the truth.

I was pretty sure that Dad wouldn't create a scene to get me back, or do something that would cause trouble for our band if it affected his social standing. But then again, he'd seemed pretty desperate back at the house, and like he wasn't going to take anything less than me transforming into the perfect son. The family reputation was already tarnished because I had decided to join a band, I didn't know if Dad would actually risk making it worse just to spite me.

I wasn't going to tell that to Dougie though, I was going to lie to him, simple as that. He didn't have to hear this right now; preferably he'd _never_ have to hear it. I didn't want him more worried than he was right now, he was such a worrier, trying to carry the weight of the world on his shoulders, it wouldn't do any good to him to know what our situation was _really_ shaping up to be.

"Harry, what if he follows us everywhere from now on? Then what do we do?" Tom asked, crowding close to our youngest, mothering instinct kicking in.

"Erm, currently, I have no idea. I'd ask Fletch for that." I sure as hell had no idea on what to do if Dad followed us _everywhere._ Even if he was just watching, it was unnerving. I'd rather have him nowhere near us, though I wasn't exactly sure how that would be possible to implement.

"Ask Fletch what?" Fletch came in, where he'd just been I didn't know.

"What happens if Harry's dad follows us everywhere we go from now on? Even if he's just watching, that's f*cking creepy." Danny answered, shuddering a little.

"Well, without legal action, I guess the most we can do is post security around you just in case. With legal action, we can implement a restraining order." Fletch paused for thought, "Though again, if we're taking legal action, we could go to court for him basically kidnapping you Harry. You probably don't want to go down that route at all though."

"Of course I don't! He's my dad! He's made some cr*ppy mistakes and I'm currently not fond of him for what he's doing, but I don't want to take legal action against him, which stops him from ever seeing me again." I wanted to keep that window of opportunity open, in case he changed his mind, in case we could make up again.

I didn't want to disown my parents over this, I wanted them to come round to my side of this, to accept me and my lifestyle, who I was friends with and my chosen career. I didn't want this to turn into an ugly family feud, I wanted them to _understand_ me, not turn them away even further.


	32. Chapter 32

31 Tom's POV

Our interview went quickly, all of us pretending that everything was okay and nothing bad was going on behind the scenes. It was a case of carrying on as best as we could, ignoring the fact that Harry's dad was outside the building, and we didn't know what he was going to do.

And as Harry said, he wasn't about to fight him legally, as he still wanted to have a relationship with his parents despite their recent actions. I could see why, though at the same time, I thought I would have considered for a minute or two about doing something a bit more _forceful_ to keep him away, instead of just ignoring the situation.

But this was Harry's decision, I wasn't going to influence him, it was his family, he knew them better than we did, and knew his feelings on the subject. I'd support him in his decisions, up until we _had_ to do something. If things escalated and something bad happened, then we were going to have to do something drastic, family relationships disregarded. Though there was no point in thinking about that right now, nothing necessarily bad was happening right now, we were safe, and so we could continue on as we were.

Getting back outside the studio, the posh car was still sitting outside, a silhouette of a face watching us as we climbed into our minivan. It was incredibly intimidating, knowing that there was someone watching us, someone with possible power and connections, who wanted one of us for their own reasons. The idea scared me a bit, I didn't like the idea of Harry being snatched from us again, and for such pathetic reasons too.

Harry had fallen in love with someone, what did it matter? It wasn't like he was going out and falling off the rails, doing drugs and all sorts of things; he had simply fallen for someone. Someone who was a very kind and lovely boy, who of course had his faults and quirks like everybody else. I didn't see the problem with that, Harry was happy, who were his parents to say that he shouldn't be in love with someone like Dougie? I hated them a bit for it, for trying to ruin their son's happiness for something as petty as a family reputation.

It reminded me too much of how Danny's parents reacted to him being gay. They had been so angry at him, spitting such hateful words at their son, effectively cutting him off from the family. The day it had come out, I had so scared that we'd be beating up for our sexuality, instead we had just been chucked out of the house. There had been _so much_ hate, but nothing like this. No stalking, or kidnapping, or trying to change anybody and force to them to be someone else.

And while Harry seemed fine after the ordeal, I couldn't help but feel like I could see flashes of _something_ I couldn't name at times. He was rebelling against everything he been taught, by finding the scruffiest clothes he could, using so much more slang than usual, and eating as much junk food he could shove in his mouth. There was a larger streak of defiance in him, more than usual, one that could get him into trouble if we weren't careful with his parents watching.

I dreaded to think of what would happen if Harry got grabbed back and he couldn't get back out again. If they took our drummer and tried to reshape him into the perfect son again... I didn't even want to think of how that defiant streak could get Harry into trouble. He didn't seem _traumatised_ or anything, but I was scared that they could break him if they got forceful or something. It worried me to think of it all, I didn't want my friend to be changed by this, I wanted this _over._ Wanted his parents to go away and leave us alone, never to come back again. Wanted to take away the fear in Dougie's eyes left over from seeing that car, and his need to cling to his boyfriend like it would stop him being ripped from his arms at any second.

I wanted to focus on seeing them happy now, curled up together on the sofa, giggling at something Harry had whispered into Dougie's ear. But I couldn't, I was just so _worried_ about it all, and didn't have a clue on how to stop it, or at least make sure that we all stayed safe.


	33. Chapter 33

**Rebbie444 - haha! :)**

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32 Danny's POV

Tom worried his way through the evening and for several days afterwards, he took to actually biting his nails as he worried, which he _never_ did. I was the nail biter, not him. It worried me to see him do it, to know that a thousand thoughts were running through his head as he got so scared of what was going to happen, and I couldn't stop it. I couldn't stop any part of this, all any one of us could do was wait it out, and that idea scared me.

"Danny, is Tom alright? He's been a bit quiet recently." Harry asked me in the kitchen while the two of us were alone. Tom was currently in the front room with Dougie, the two of having another space conversation neither of us understood.

"He's worried; I don't think he likes not being in complete control over the situation." I answered; Tom never took well to a situation he couldn't completely control. He liked knowing exactly what was going on, and being in as much control as possible over the situation, so it all ran smoothly.

"Thought so." Harry sighed, biting his lip, "I'm sorry that you're getting so stressed over this, I didn't realise that this was going to happen, if I'd have known, I would have never insisted that we go to that party. I never thought that my parents would react like this, I thought anger and some shouting, but not all of this."

"It's okay mate, none of us could have known that they would react like this. We don't hold it against you at all; you had no control over their reaction." I clasped him on the shoulder, I knew for a fact that none of us blamed Harry. He had no control over his parent's reactions, and no control over what they were doing now.

"Thanks, but it bothers me a lot, I'm putting you guys through hell with all this worry. It's not what I wanted. I wanted them to like you, and treat you like human beings; instead they acted like you're the scum of the earth. I probably haven't made it any better by running off like this, but I didn't have a choice. If I didn't leave when I did, I may have never seen you again." Harry sighed, holding onto my wrist.

"And we're _so_ glad to see you home again. You did what you had to do to get away from that place; we'll deal with the consequences gladly if it means we keep you." I smiled, pulling him in for a hug.

"Thanks. Still, sorry about all this stress." Harry hugged me back, "Now, I think we should get back to our boys. Before they get too into that space show."

"God we'll be lucky." I laughed, stepping back into the front room, sliding in behind Tom on the sofa, squeezing his sides and kissing his neck.

In bed that night, Tom was curled up in my arms, but he still felt incredibly tense. He was almost solid in my arms, instead of the pliant boy he usually was.

"Tom, relax a little, you're too tense." I squeezed him, running a thumb over his hip.

"And how are you not tense, with everything going on?" Tom turned to look at me over his shoulder.

"I am, but I know that there isn't anything we can do right now, and that currently there is no immediate danger. So I'm simply accepting things are they come and dealing with it." I shrugged, it was how I dealt with most things - I accepted them and tried my best to carry on. I had had my fair share of anxiety issues; I was learning to control them and trying to keep all that excess worry at bay.

"But I _can't._ You know I hate not being in control, and this is as out of control as we can get." Tom turned fully over, burying his face into my chest.

"I know love, but we just have to try, you know? Currently we just have a shadow following us, who isn't doing anything but watching. That's not too bad; it's like having a photographer following us around without the annoying camera flash, or the thought of it ending up in the papers." I kissed his forehead, brushing some of his fluffy hair out of his eyes.

"But the thought of what _could_ end up in the papers is worse. Photographers just get photos of us wandering around and playing silly buggers. This could end up with all of our relationships exposed, and while I don't mind being open about us, I want it to be on _our_ terms. And we don't know being suddenly exposed will affect Harry or Dougie; the media could eat them alive with it all!" Tom looked at me with wide, scared eyes, almost like he was pleading me to take it all away and make it better.

"That does sound like a horrible situation, but that hasn't happened yet. It may not happen. It all depends on how much Harry's parents dare to ruin their reputation, which they seem to care about more than anything. It's a catch 22 type situation for them, they'll get revenge on their son, but they'll lose him even more _and_ wreck their closely guarded standing in their community. To me, I think they'll do what my parents did, which is keeping it quiet and not daring to tell a soul." I reassured Tom over and over, slowly massaging his back until he relaxed a bit in my arms, then further still until he became pliant and a little sleepy.

"You're probably right. But I can't sit back and _not_ worry." Tom mumbled, his head nestled into my shoulder.

"I'm not expecting you too. What you can do though is not worry _as much_ about a situation which hasn't even happened yet. We don't know what's going to happen, and while that freaks you out, whatever happens will happen, we will deal with whatever is thrown at us. Right now though, we're going to sleep, because nothing has happened yet. So shhh, go to sleep town." I kissed his head again, keeping up the soothing motions along his spine until Tom dropped into sleep, something he seriously deserved.


	34. Chapter 34

33 Harry's POV

I hated knowing that I was causing my friends so much worry with this situation, but there wasn't anything I could do to stop it. My parents were law runs to themselves, and apparently wanted to intimidate us, or send the message that they were watching me closely from now on. It was certainly getting through; I felt their eyes _everywhere_ we went, even when I couldn't see the car, or any other trace of them. Yet I still felt like I could feel them watching, and it was making me paranoid.

I didn't want to go back to my parents, or prove to them that I wasn't happy here, because I _was_ happy here, happier than I'd been anywhere else. But right now, with everybody so worried, it was taking its toll and while we were managing well enough, there was a veil of worry over all of us. None of us knew what my parents wanted, or what they were going to do next. It was a literal guessing game.

I half wanted to go back to their house to ask them myself, but I knew that if I went, I would probably never leave again. I had gone through so much trouble to get out in the first place; I wasn't going to willingly walk back in again, not without a _very_ good reason and with at least 90% surety that it wasn't going to end with me being trapped in the house for a second time. I could have called Thomas or Katherine I guessed, though they had both gone back to their own homes now, and I doubted Mum or Dad told them everything anyway. They weren't about to risk their children helping me out, not with me being their version of perfect was so important to them.

"Harry, you're thinking again." Dougie told me around a mouthful of cereal.

"Huh?" I only half heard him, I was so lost in thought.

"You're thinking again. And it's nothing good by the look on your face. So you're probably worrying about your parents again. What's up?" Dougie explained, shovelling more sugar puffs in his mouth.

"Trying to figure out if I should see if Thomas or Katherine have been told any of my parents plans. I can't ask them myself, but they may know." I explained, leaning back so my chair was balancing on two legs instead of four.

"Hmm, they may know something. I say text them." Tom nabbed a bit of toast off Danny's plate.

"Oi!" Danny playfully hit Tom's arm, "But yeah, text them. It can't hurt to try." He agreed.

"Exactly, if they don't know, they don't know. If they do, at least we know what they're up to." Dougie continued as Tom stuck his tongue out at Danny.

"S'pose it couldn't hurt." I picked up my phone, sending off a quick _'hey, any ideas on what M+D are up to?'_ to both my siblings.

It took what felt like forever for either to reply, when really it could have only been an hour. Thomas was first, answering with a simple: _'Dad's incredibly p*ssed, talking some sh*t about teaching you a lesson.'_ While Katherine came back with _'They're plotting some sort of revenge. Looks like a lot of psyching you out and forcing you back through guilt or fear.'_ Which _really_ put my mind at rest. Wasn't like that didn't sound daunting and something to be feared.

Though currently that was only involving following and watching us outside TV stations. That wasn't too bad, and it certainly wasn't going to guilt me into going back to the house. Sure, it was freaking out my friends and that was making me feel guilty, but I wasn't about to go back to my parents just because my friends were worried. Me going back there would worry them more, and take the band away from them, and that would just make everybody even more miserable. Even while worried, we were still better off at home, together and united. So just _staring_ wasn't going to guilt me that much.

But if things escalated... Jesus I was scared of what they could do to start intimidating me back to their house. They couldn't threaten us without risking it backfiring against themselves if we took it to the police. But they could come up with any number of intimidating ideas, or guilt trips, or any number of things that would get me back to them. I was scared to think of the possibilities.

 _'Sh*t, thanks though. Keep me updated.'_ I replied to the message, curling up around Dougie and squeezing him hard. I wouldn't go back to my parents willingly, and if they did start doing something to intimidate me, this was going to get really ugly really quick. Poor Dougie wouldn't handle that well, and the thought of him being put through this already made me feel _so_ guilty. If they used my boy against me... God I wouldn't have a choice but to go back, I loved him so much, I'd do anything to protect him.


	35. Chapter 35

**updating twice today because i accidentally posted the last chapter to the wrong fic... whoops!**

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34 Dougie's POV

The day after Harry's siblings texted us, the messages started. Every day, Harry received a new message from his parents, be it through text, voicemail or actual letter. Each one was vaguely threatening, going from 'get home _now'_ to 'we will come down and get you if we have to, you are not staying there.' It was _awful,_ watching the letters come in, each one demanding that Harry return home or his parents would take him by force.

Harry was so scared, we all were, but he was genuinely _terrified_ by every one that came through. He tried to hide it, acting like he couldn't care less, or like he was angry at it all. But there was so much fear in his eyes, he held me tighter every night, like I was going to keep him with us just by holding him. Seeing him like this terrified me, before I could half believe that there was no legitimate reason for us to be scared, but now that Harry was being affected by all this, I knew that we were not going to get out of this lightly.

"We need to phone Fletch, he will do something." I decided, looking at the latest note.

 _'We are heading towards the end of our patience Harry. Come back NOW.'_

"Like what? He can't stop them. And clearly they know where we live, which is a bit of a shock." Harry ran his hands through his hair in frustration.

"Maybe we could move." Tom suggested, "Or stay in a hotel for a bit, something like that. That'll slow them down for a bit, while they try and find us again."

"They're _not_ pushing us out of our home." Harry growled, I rubbed his back, feeling the tension bunching up his muscles.

"Maybe not forever, maybe just for a little bit, while this calms down." Tom tried to reassure, it didn't work well.

"And how long will it take for it to _calm down?_ It's been three weeks and so far it's only made things worse! They went from stalking to sending threatening messages, ordering me home." Harry growled again.

"And how much worse could it get? They could try and _kidnap_ you or something! They know where we live; we need to leave before they get the chance!" Tom argued, pulling at his hair.

"But I don't want to be pushed out of my home! This is my home, it's _our home,_ we shouldn't be forced out because my parents have decided to threaten me like this!" Harry hissed, giving us all pleading eyes.

It broke my heart to see him looks so worried, looking at us with such pleading eyes. He didn't want to move, have his life changed so much because of his parents. I didn't want to either, but there was no choice, was there? It didn't seem like it...

"I don't want to leave either, but it may be the only way to slow the messages and get them off our scent for a while." I rubbed his back again, pulling him to lean into my side.

"Until they find us again at our latest interview or photo shoot or wherever else we are! From which they can follow us back to wherever we're staying! So we'll have to move again and again and again in a never ending cycle of chasing each other round the country!" Harry stood up as he shouted.

"Sh*t." Danny swore, "Where's my phone, we need Fletch." He ran out of the room to get his phone.

Now if only Fletch had any idea on what to do in this situation. But had a manager ever have to deal with something like this? I doubted it, especially when Harry was so convinced that he wasn't going to let his parents wreck his life like this. I understood where he was coming from, but at the same time, we had to get somewhere safe, where we couldn't be found. Or at least followed.

But was there somewhere to go? Was there even somewhere _safe_ to go? A place where we belonged and we were safe from persecution? I was so scared that we wouldn't find a place to be safe from all of this. Was there any place to go?


	36. Chapter 36

35 Harry's POV

I didn't want to move house! I didn't want to leave our band house because of threatening messages! This was ridiculous! We couldn't leave our _home_ because of my parents! This wasn't fair! They couldn't force me out of my home because I fell in love with someone! How could they do this!? Why couldn't they leave us alone?!

Every message was imbedded in my mind; I could see them every time I closed my eyes. The words haunted my every waking thought, and it was driving me to distraction. I didn't want to move, but if this carried on, we were going to have to run from here. We would have to run away together and hope it would be enough.

But that could affect the band, we couldn't affect that. McFly was our life; we didn't want to do anything else but be in this band, how could we run away and leave it? Would it be possible to run away and still be a band, where our every move was documented by the press?

What had we gotten ourselves into here? Why couldn't I have kept my stupid mouth shut and not let slip this relationship? I was such an _idiot,_ such a f*cking idiot. I hated myself for it. Hated myself so much for ruining everything for all of us, all because my parents couldn't bl**dy except that I was in love and it wasn't with someone they approved of. I hated them for it too; I hated me and them for doing this to us. We had been _happy,_ so damn happy, before they interfered and tried to tell me how to feel and who to feel for.

My shoulders started shaking and before I could stop it, I was crying into my hands in despair. This was a nightmare, a nightmare I had tried _so hard_ to avoid, and now everything was going to hell.

"Harry, Harry no, don't cry! We'll figure it out, we'll get through this." Dougie wrapped his arms around me, letting me sob into his chest.

"I-I'm sorry, I'm so sorry. I tried; I tried to k-keep this from happening." I gripped his t-shirt in my hands, wishing more than anything that this hadn't happened to us. Why didn't I keep my mouth shut? Why couldn't I have been brought up less privileged? Why couldn't my parents be _accepting_ of me and who I loved?!

"I know honey, I know. But it would have happened eventually, they'd have found out somehow and we would still be in this situation. All we can do now is ride it out, and do whatever we can to get out of this." Dougie kissed my hair, remarkably holding it together.

Dougie _never_ held it together in stressful situations, he had panic attacks, he passed out, he threw up sometimes, but he never was the one who kept it together. I always was the one who kept calm and got us out, never him. How could he be so calm right now? How could he be so damn calm while _I_ broke down?! It was always the other way round, why wasn't it the other way round now?! I couldn't do this, I had to be the strong one, I was always the strong one. Dougie needed me to be the strong one, he needed me to protect him, I couldn't break down!

"Shh Harry, shh. It's okay, Tom and Danny are phoning Fletch now, he'll think of something. He'll help us, just like always. We're not alone; we'll get through this together. It may mean moving for a little while, but if it keeps us safe for a bit, isn't it worth it?" Dougie tried smiling, stroking my hair gently.

"They... They shouldn't be doing this. A-All we're doing is being a couple, what's so wrong with that?!" I whimpered into his neck, desperately trying to pull myself together.

"Nothing, there is _nothing_ wrong with that. We are perfectly normal; it's just that your parents don't view it that way. Everybody else does. Tom and Danny accept it, Fletch and the rest of management too, the fans are practically convinced of it, Thomas and Katherine are perfectly okay with it too. It's just your parents with their outdated views on these things. What they need is a bit of education about love and how it can come from anywhere, not get separated by stupid things like class." Dougie kissed my face, "We'll find something to show them that, I promise. They'll see our point of view eventually, they'll have to. I don't know how we'll show them, but we will show them, and then they'll be eating their words, and all this will stop."

Dougie kept on reassuring me until I calmed down, but continued to hold me for a while longer. But I couldn't take much comfort in his words, because my parents were so _stubborn,_ how could we show them that me and Dougie were happier together than we would be with anybody else? They wouldn't even let me explain when I was in their house, let alone now, after I had run off and was ignoring their messages. How were we supposed to get them to listen? It seemed impossible!


	37. Chapter 37

36 Dougie's POV

Fletch's only advise to us again was that he could get us moved, he had no other advise for us at all, apart from 'take legal action.' But that meant putting out restraining orders and whatever else against Harry's parents, and he didn't want that! _I_ didn't want that! He still wanted a relationship with his parents after all this was over, we couldn't wreck it completely by putting a _restraining_ order on them! That would be ridiculous! This whole situation was ridiculous!

But what could we do? How much longer could we ignore these messages? What would happen if we continued to ignore them? I was so scared, so damn _scared._ I had to be strong though; I had to keep going for Harry. He was in a state, having nightmares some nights, breaking down _crying_ while staring at all this messages, I couldn't break down too. I had to be strong for him; one of us always had to stay strong. He'd been so strong for me over the years, and had never given up on me, even when I was having horrendous panic attacks during my parents' divorce; I was _never_ going to give up on him.

"Does he have _anything_ else for us? We can't move, this is our _home._ " I pleaded Danny to ask, stroking my hand through Harry's hair as his face pressed against my stomach. He'd calmed down, but was still so upset, though he was trying his best to hide it.

"He says he's trying to figure some stuff out, but that's all he's got." Tom sighed, looking so apologetic, "He has said that we could just not open the letters. Or get them sent to him."

"But that won't stop them coming through on my phone." Harry cut him off.

"How did they even get your number? You got that phone a week ago!" Danny flopped into a chair, staring at the phone with a hint of amazement on his face.

"No idea. Thomas and Katherine wouldn't have given it to them." Harry chucked the phone on the table; it skidded but unfortunately didn't fall off the end.

"They've got some ridiculously good resources, I'll give them that." Tom joined Danny in flopping into another chair.

"They're rich, money isn't a problem when terrorising their son." Harry grumbled, voice heavy with sarcasm.

"Which also means following us if we moved wouldn't be an issue." I sighed as I realised it.

"Nope. Hence there's no point. This is our home, there's no point in moving from it, especially when they'll find us again within a week." Harry nodded, looking utterly defeated.

"Sh*t." Danny swore.

"So instead we have to watch this escalate? Great, soon they're going to end up actually trying to get in here and kidnap you." Tom hugged his knees; his words making me pull Harry closer. _Nobody_ was taking my boy from me, _nobody._

"They can try, they won't manage it though." I wouldn't let them, I was small and weak, but bl**dy hell, nobody was taking my Harry from me. He was _mine,_ and like hell I was letting him get kidnapped by his mental family and taken back to that hell hole of a manor to be taught to be a 'proper man.' He was already a proper man; he didn't need any sort of retraining or anything. His family were _crazy_ to think otherwise.

"We can ask Fletch to up security around here. I mean, he's already fitted a better alarm system, but he could put guards around and stuff I guess." Tom suggested, Danny started typing out the request to Fletch.

"Maybe security cameras too?" I joined in, wrapping my fingers around Harry's, feeling him give them a squeeze.

"That'll at least put them off for a bit. And give us ample evidence to give the police if anything did happen. We may not be able to get you out, but the police would." Danny smiled reassuringly, firing off the text. Another came back less than a minute later. "Fletch says he'll get it all set up within a week. Guards are arriving tonight; cameras will take a few days longer."

"At least that's something." I tried to smile too, not really feeling it. I doubted I would feel safe until everything was in place, there were no more letters, and Harry was either back on speaking terms with his parents, or completely separated from them.


	38. Chapter 38

**Last update I'll be making as a 19 year old because I'm turning 20 tomorrow! AH!**

* * *

37 Harry's POV

A car arrived outside the house the next morning. A blacked out, expensive looking car. Which sat there, nobody getting out, nobody getting in.

An hour later, the post arrived, including a letter with the words:

 _'Get in the car and we will forget this ever happened Harry'_

At which point, we _panicked._

"Sh*t, sh*t, sh*t! What do we do!? There's a car outside f*ck there's a car outside!" Dougie swore, tearing at his hair as he paced frantically.

"We... We..." I didn't have words, I was too scared. Scared wasn't actually covering it, I was _terrified!_ My parents had parked a f*cking car outside the house and were now threatening me to get in it and go back to their house! Who knew who was even inside that car in the first place! It could be Dad, or some sort of guard, and there would be no problem with getting me in that car if a guard used force! _Sh*t_ this was bad, this was very, very bad!

"Fletch there's a car outside and Harry's gotten a letter telling him to get in it, what do we do?!" Tom rushed the message into the phone, looking over at me with such a panicked face; I didn't have a clue on how to respond.

"Where are the guards? Aren't there supposed to be guards?!" Danny was shouting, head whipping back and forth in front of the widow as he searched for guards.

"Boys breathe! There are guards sat at discreet and strategic points around the house, they arrived last night after you phoned. They reported the car's appearance earlier this morning, and are currently monitoring the person inside it, and making sure that the driver doesn't get close to the house. So, breathe, calm down, nothing is going to happen." Fletch's voice sounded tinny down the line, and nowhere near as calm as I needed it to be right now.

"But they're right outside our house! They're directly threatening Harry right now! They're telling him to get in the car and leave with them but he can't leave because he's ours and he won't be safe out there and he needs to be safe and he can't go!" Dougie panicked, my world tilting to the side as he started heaving in breath.

I ran over and grabbed him, keeping my hands on his sides to keep him up right. "Doug, Doug honey _breathe._ It's okay, I'm not going anywhere, just come on, breathe with me." I started to help him breathe, counting out beats for him to breathe in and out to while his hands clawed at my arms.

"Fletch, that car can't just stay outside all the time, we've got to do something about it, haven't we? It's watching us, and expecting Harry inside it _today._ What's going to happen if he doesn't go?" Tom whispered, trying to keep his voice down for Dougie's sake.

"In, one two three, and out, one two three." I leant my head against Dougie's, keeping at it as he started to follow along. Mini-crisis half averted, he'd need grounding, but if I could get him breathing properly he wouldn't pass out, and passing out was the bit that scared us both the most. It needed to be avoided at all costs.

"We... I don't know. I just don't know. The guards will be useful in keeping intruders out and you guys in, but I'll have to get back to you about everything else." Fletch sighed, he had to be joking, he didn't have a plan?!

"How don't you have a plan?! You always have a plan!" I broke my mantra to glare at the phone.

"It's not my fault! This is one serious curveball! There aren't many bands out there who get this problem funnily enough!" Fletch shouted, we all winced, "Sorry, sorry boys. We're all getting stressy, shall we all just take a minute to breathe and you can fill me in on exactly what this car looks like and anything else I need to know. It could spark off something that could help, but currently all I have is sending more guards in and rushing the cameras being set up, or getting you guys away somewhere safe."

I hated it when he said that, I was so against running away. But was there another choice? It was starting to look like our only option as the pressure kept on rising around us. I really didn't want to run away though, but with a car now being parked outside the house, there wasn't much more we could do. Sh*t, why did this have to happen?!


	39. Chapter 39

38 Dougie's POV

The car didn't leave for days; it sat in the exact same position every day, never moving, the driver never leaving, _nothing_ changed about it. It continued to sit there for hours on end, the blacked out windows never even rolling down to reveal just who was inside.

None of us dared to go out there and shout at the driver, in fear of Harry getting yanked into the car and taken away, or one of us getting hurt somehow. We didn't really think that the driver, or anybody else inside would really hurt us for going over there, but we couldn't risk _anything_ in fear of it blowing up. The messages were getting angrier, if we did something more to anger Harry's parents, I dreaded to think what they'd do to us.

"What's the latest note saying?" Fletch asked, he'd come round to ours every day since the car turned up, getting us food and whatever else we needed. We were too scared to leave the house.

"That boy is vermin; we will never accept your feelings for him. Get in the car or we will tear you away and make your life hell for daring to disobey us this long." Harry answered, not even looking at the note, face completely blank like he'd given up completely.

"It's gone up a notch, and at this rate they may actually make do on that threat." Tom put his hands on our shoulders protectively, pleading Fletch to do something. Because he had to do something, this was _insane,_ and was escalating badly, if we continued to disobey them, we didn't know what they could do to us.

"Please Fletch, do something to make it stop, we can't let Harry go back to them, we'll never see him again and they'll turn him into something he's not. You have to do something to stop this." I pleaded, I couldn't take this, I wanted this _over._ I didn't want to wake up every morning and check to see if a blacked out car was outside, didn't want to dread the post arriving, didn't want to live in fear of waking up to find Harry gone, knowing that if he was taken from us, we'd never see him again. This wasn't supposed to happen, we were supposed to just be a band and be _happy,_ we weren't supposed to have parents who hated who we were, have them try and take us away from each other, they were supposed to love and support us, because we made each other happy. Why couldn't they just see that we were happy and leave us alone? We were happy, that was supposed to be the main thing in life, being _happy._

"The only thing I can think of is taking away their power, and you're not going to like how we do that." Fletch bit his lip.

"Why not?" I didn't like the sound of this already.

"Well your parents have two main threats that they can use against you. One is obviously kidnapping, but they probably won't do that because we'll be straight to the police and they'll get arrested, meaning a ruined reputation and no more massive mansion with servants. The second is that they could out you, tell the world of your relationship. Now coming out could backfire on us completely, the press will be a complete nightmare, we won't know how fans will react, and things could go terribly wrong in a number of ways. The world isn't exactly completely accepting of gay couples yet, let alone openly gay couples in the public eye. So that information becoming public could make or break us." _I really didn't like the sound of this._

"But, I can almost guarantee that if they announce that and out us, it'll be a disaster. We won't have any control at all over how the announcement is worded or anything; they'll have complete control of the story that comes out, which they could use to twist to their advantage. But if _we_ release it first, we have control of what is said, how it's said, and be able to sculpt it how we want to. In doing so, we're taking your parents power away from them; they can't use it as threat against you, and can't do it to 'punish' you either. We'll still have to worry about the announcement either making or breaking us, but it may be worth it in the end if it takes some power away from your parents." Fletch explained, I really, _really_ didn't like the idea of that!

I hadn't wanted to come out like this, I wanted to do it later in life, when we were more settled down! Maybe when our sexuality wasn't as controversial in the media as it was now. Maybe if me and Harry ever decided to get married, we'd announce it then. But I'd never thought to do it like this, to be near forced into it so somebody didn't out us for us. Sh*t this was hard, we could do it and give ourselves some breathing space, but would it be swapping one load of torment for another? Could we take that kind of pressure from two angles? And more importantly, would this turn people against us?

This band was our livelihood, we lived and breathed it. Coming out could ruin us, but did we really have a choice? Were there any other options for us? I didn't think there was.

How had it ever come to this?


	40. Chapter 40

39 Harry's POV

Was this really what this was coming to? All the trouble, the notes, the escaping and everything, to end up with us being forced to come out, just so we didn't screw up our careers too badly? Was this _really_ what all this was coming to? My God, what was _happening_ around here? I just wanted to be in a band with my boyfriend and have my parents accept me, that was _all_ I had ever wanted. And now _this_ was happening, my parents probably hated me at this point, and I was being forced to come out far too early just to stop them from wrecking everything we had built together.

How had we let this get so bad? How did we allow this to happen in the first place?! Why couldn't my parents just love me the way I was, or at least not be so cruel about it? Couldn't they do what normal unaccepting parents did and just kick me out and cut me off the family inheritance? It would hurt less than this; anything would hurt less than this.

"This wasn't how I planned it. I didn't want us to come out so soon." I whispered, clinging to Dougie's hand, feeling it squeeze my own.

"We were going to wait Fletch, just until we were more settled in our careers." Dougie explained, taking my place as the comforting voice of reason between the two of us. I _hated_ putting him in this position, I was usually the one who told him that it would be okay, I always made sure he didn't have panic attacks, that he was strong enough to carry on in the face of terrible situations. I stood by his side and held him up, kept him from the danger of the world. Not the other way round, never did he stand up for me while I wallowed in anxiety; I _hated_ doing this to him. I was the strong one; I was _always_ the strong one. But I couldn't be strong right now, I wanted to curl in a ball and die to make this all stop.

"I understand that, I truly do. But we might not have another choice. There's not much we can do right now, apart from anticipate their next moves and counter them as best we can. I know you wanted to wait until you were more settled in your career, and maybe even engaged or something, but I think this will take away some of your parents power. If we do that, they won't have much of a leg to stand on." Fletch sighed, looking apologetically at us.

"What if it destroys our careers Fletch? I don't want our careers wrecked." I couldn't let this destroy everything we had built these past four years. We had worked so hard to get where we were, if coming out wrecked that I'd never forgive myself.

"Well, it's a good job I've been keeping an eye on fan opinion since you two first showed signs of fancying each other. As it happens, there is a nice percentage of your fan base who reckon you're gay already Harry. Dougie they're on the fence about, but there's a lot of talk about you two being together, so I think if you came out, they wouldn't mind too much. Also, you guys have quite a large gay following, so I think they'd be fine with it too. In that respect, I think coming out wouldn't be too bad." Fletch smiled a bit.

"But what about the rest of the industry and the label? Will the label still want to represent us if we come out? What about radio play for our singles, and interviews, will anyone want to still interview us? We need that publicity to keep our name in the public eye, if we don't get that, what's going to happen?" Dougie asked, hands starting to shake.

"I don't know, honestly, I don't. The label is fine with it, I've already spoken to them, it's everybody else we've got to worry about." Fletch chewed on his lip.

"Which just leaves the rest of the media, you know, the people we rely on to promote us, give us exposure, so people hear our music and buy it and become fans and so on." I pulled Dougie in closer, sensing his body starting to tense.

"I don't know how those people will react, but honestly this is the _only_ plan I currently have. There is nothing else. We have to do something to counter balance your parents and this is the only thing I can think of which doesn't harm your relationship with them further, just like you asked." Fletch answered, I was _really_ starting to regret ever asking him to come up with ideas to stop this that didn't harm my relationship with my parents further.

But I couldn't help it, deep down, I still loved them. I did, truly. They were my _parents,_ they'd raised me and loved me, they'd accepted a lot of things from me. It was just all this band stuff and now my relationship with Dougie they didn't like. And I wanted them to accept that too, I didn't want to abandon them for this, I wanted to repair the relationship when it was safe to. When they'd calmed down, and things had settled, I wanted to repair this relationship. I couldn't do that if they were in prison or something for harassment.

"Give us a while to talk about it." I hated that we were having to have this conversation, but there was no other choice. It really looked like the only option we had.


	41. Chapter 41

40 Dougie's POV

Fletch gave us a while to think about things, taking Tom and Danny with him to give us some privacy. Though they briefly stayed to tell us that they would stand behind any decision we made, and would do anything to help us. Which left us floundering for a solution.

Neither of us wanted to come out, not like this. Not when we were only into our third year of being in a band, we had only just started work on our third album, and were starting to get into the swing of band life. Could we really risk tearing it all down again for this? It looked like we didn't have a choice, either we could bite the bullet and do it first, with our wording and on our schedule. Or we could wait for Harry's parents to leak it to the press, probably in the nastiest way possible. On the whole, it was better if we did it ourselves. But the point still stood, we didn't want to do this now, we wanted to do this in a few years time, when we were settled more into the swing of band life, settled into our place in the music industry. Not when we were still establishing ourselves and getting to know the ropes.

"So... any thoughts on this?" I sighed, playing with Harry's hand.

"Other than the fact that I don't want to do this?" Harry sighed.

"About any of it. If we should do it or not, how we should announce it, _when_ we should announce it. Anything like that." I encouraged, twisting our fingers around each others, not exactly making it into a game, but something along those lines.

"I don't know. All I know is that this is way too early for an announcement like this. Though I guess we don't have a choice." Harry sighed, staring down at our hands.

"I guess we don't. But hey, at least Fletch says the record company and a lot of our fans won't mind, that's something at the least." I smiled weakly, hoping to be a voice of reason, though reason felt like a really stupid thing right now. I wanted to forget reason and _run_ away with Harry forever, though that wasn't possible without giving up our band, and no way were we doing that.

"Yeah, at least we have that." Harry flashed a smile too, "It's just everybody else we have to worry about."

"Well the general public I don't really give a cr*p about, they can think whatever they want to think about our relationship, and the media, well hopefully they'll be d*cks for a while and then move on. We won't be that bigger news really, they'll soon find something else to focus on, they always do." I encouraged, "And if they carry on being d*cks forever, well, f*ck them. Our relationship is none of their business, and if they don't like it, that's their problem, not ours. We're happy together, we're going to continue being happy together, who cares what anybody else thinks?"

"Since when did you become the voice of reason in this relationship?" Harry raised an eyebrow, with a bit of a smile returning.

"When this got serious. One of us has to be the voice of reason, and after all the times you've done it, I think it's time I returned the favour." I shrugged, "So, you think we'll do it then? Actually come out to the world as a couple?"

"We don't exactly have a choice in the matter... Though I guess we could stagger it a bit, test the waters first." Harry bit his lip in thought.

"How so?" I couldn't see any way we could test the waters first.

"Well maybe one of us should come out as gay first, see how that goes, and it isn't as much of a shock I guess either. If one comes out, that's a bit 'normal' if not just a bit cliché, if two come out, and come out as a couple, it could cause a bigger storm than we can handle at first. Then when we come out as a couple, we can learn from our mistakes and come out in the best way we can." Harry suggested.

The man was a genius, I swear.


	42. Chapter 42

41 Tom's POV

"Think they'll go for it?" Danny asked, chewing on his lip.

"I don't know, it's not like we have another choice, but this isn't how they wanted to do this." I honestly didn't know, Harry didn't want things to change, or to risk our bands livelihood, but this would change so much, had the potential to wreck us all. But at the same time, if he and Dougie didn't come out, his parents could get so much worse and wreck our lives in other ways. It was a catch 22, all we could do was try our best to get through it and deal in any way possible.

"If this was us, what would you want to do?" Danny looked hesitant to ask.

"If your parents had tried to break us up then I wouldn't have come out, because that would have wound them up further. But at the same time, we weren't at risk of being outed, as your parents weren't accepting of you being gay, not who I was as a person. Harry's parents hate Dougie, not his sexuality; it's a whole different ball game." I sighed, unsure how these two situations could really correlate.

Danny's parents hadn't been accepting of him being gay, not of me; they'd liked me from the first day we met. But Harry's parents hated who Dougie was as a person, despite not actually knowing him at all. I would say that there should be a meeting between Harry, Dougie and Harry's parents to sort this out, but I feared that instead of paying attention, they'd only react badly to whatever Dougie did and use the opportunity to take Harry away again. What was needed was neutral ground, and everybody having a level head, before a proper first meeting could take place.

To me, that was all that really needed doing. It was impossible to not love Dougie from the minute he opened his mouth, he was an incredibly sweet boy, without a bad bone in his body, and he loved Harry unconditionally. Sure, he was sometimes a bit rude with his jokes, and liked burping and farting far too much for a guy his age, but that was just a part of _him._ We were all like that, Harry himself was like that, and him being like that had nothing to do with us. All of us were responsible people, it wasn't like we were getting Harry to rob banks or anything, so he should have been allowed to continue being with us without his parents having a fit about it.

"Just for the record, I've got plans ready for you two as well if you ever decide to come out." Fletch butted in with a kind smile.

"Such as?" I asked, slightly fearing what he was about to say.

"Basically it's just drafts of press releases, each one a bit different to fit most situations. Including one if you get outed, which was written last week in light of all of this." Fletch answered, well at least one of us was a bit prepared for that eventuality.

"Cheers." Danny flashed a small smile as the kitchen door opened, Harry and Dougie making their entrance, and looking slightly like they had a plan forming.

"We'll come out, but we want to do it in stages." Dougie summarised, Harry going into the actual plan they had.

Harry would come out first, to test the water and see how that was going. He would hint at having a boyfriend without saying who, to protect Dougie until the time was right. Then they'd both announce their relationship, taking his parents leverage out of play completely. Though it did give his parents time to tell the press exactly who Harry was dating, but we were banking on this being a 'last resort' for them, not a knee jerk reaction to Harry defying them.

Despite that, I liked it, as it gave the public and media time to adjust to the news that one of us was gay first, instead of it all being smacked in their faces in one go. Staggering these announcements would keep things as quiet as they could be given the circumstances, and quiet was what we needed the most.

"Plus, not immediately coming out with the fact that you're in a relationship with Dougie _could_ keep your parents happy for a while, as their reputation isn't being ruined, so you're not defying them as much as you could be." Fletch piped up at the end of the explanation.

"Exactly! And that'll hopefully keep them from going absolutely ballistic at us." Harry agreed, smiling again for the first time in days. I'd missed seeing him smile, the house didn't feel right unless all of us were happy.

"Which they undoubtedly would if we came out with the fact that we're together straight away." Dougie continued on the sentence, grinning up at Harry like the man was a genius.

This could have possibly worked...


	43. Chapter 43

42 Harry's POV

I felt marginally better with this plan than I did with Fletch's, not because I didn't trust the man or his managing skills, but because this felt more... _natural,_ if you will. We weren't exactly hedging our bets, but going as slow into this as we reasonably could. It was a stepping stone, which would at least soften the blow if my parents exposed us completely. If I was already 'out' then hopefully it wouldn't be as much as a shock to the world if they were suddenly informed that me and Dougie were in a relationship. Hopefully. If we were lucky.

God this was still an _awful_ situation, how did we even get into it in the first place? All we had done was go to my parent's house, and admittedly had an argument where I revealed far too much. But in my defence, my parents weren't exactly _accommodating_ that night either, so I had fought back in my friends defence. There was nothing wrong with that, and if my parents were more accepting people they would have been happy for me and left us to it. This overreaction was _their_ fault entirely, yet I was the one feeling guilty. F*cking hell, I really didn't need the stress of figuring out what to say in a press release right now, or the impending barrage of questions we were undoubtedly going to be subjected to for coming out.

"I think we should circulate this through Attitude magazine first, possibly getting an interview in there too. They're a magazine aimed at gay men, so they'll be a nice starting point." Fletch suggested, twiddling a pen between his fingers.

"Well at the least they won't be incredibly judgemental for this." I agreed with a sigh, hugging my knees, feeling incredibly insecure about this.

Was I really ready to actually come out as gay? Hell no I wasn't, but there wasn't any choice. It was this or letting my parents have this to dangle over me. I'd rather do it on my terms, even if it was several years too early.

"Exactly, that's why I suggested it. If anything, they'll work _with_ you instead of against you, which will be a really good practise run for the less accepting public." Fletch smiled encouragingly, it didn't really help me feel better about this.

"Alright, go to them first. Do we have to do a press conference too; these things usually involve press conferences, right?" I asked, glancing at Dougie. He was holding up quite well at this point, leaning into my side, his arm linked through mine for support.

"Sometimes, we'll see how things go for now." Fletch shrugged, _useful that._

"Now this is going to be an incredibly hard thing to get through, there's going to be painful questions, and probably some not-so-nice insinuations. You're probably going to be asked how you figured out your sexuality, and if you're with someone. It's going to get intrusive, so you're going to have to prepare for that, it'll be tough. Obviously we're not straight out saying that you're with Doug, so you'll have to try to throw them off the scent. I'll give you some pointers closer to the time of your first interview, when I have a better idea of how the world is taking the news, but for now, all I can say is that this is going to be tough when it hits." Fletch sighed, looking at all of us in turn with a look of such grim determination it made my stomach drop further through the floor than it already was.

I felt sick thinking that this was happening soon, that soon the entire world would know that I was gay, and the questions I would soon be facing. I didn't want to think about it, but it was _all_ I could think about. The questions I'd be asked, the insinuations, the hatred we possibly faced. We didn't know exactly how the media would react, fans were mostly going to be okay from what we could tell, it was everyone else we had to worry about. I was quite frankly terrified of what was going to happen now, who we were going to encounter, what was going to be said, the pressure of it all.

No doubt there'd be an increase in coverage of our every move, a media storm surrounding us and following our every move. So now not only would it be my parents watching me like a hawk, it would be the media too, and the media had cameras, and the ability to turn the public against a person with just a few words. They bent and twisted everything, who knew what they would say about us when this hit in a few days time!

I felt sick thinking about it, sick and nauseous, I wanted out of this situation and we hadn't even gotten to the hard bit yet. Jesus how did people cope with this?! Is this what it felt like when Dougie was having a panic attack?! How did he manage feeling so much anxiety so often? I wanted to crawl in a hole and die right now, or run away forever, never to be seen again. But I couldn't even do that, I had to get out there and get on with it, face the music for better or worse. _F*ck_ we were so f*cked. I would have done anything to get out of this.


	44. Chapter 44

Question, do you like this format for chapters? I'm thinking of putting in shorter chapters, which are written in the style of newspaper articles, what do you think

43 no POV

 _It is with great joy that the drummer of McFly, Harry Judd, has decided to come out as gay. He has thought long and hard about the decision and has decided that it is best for him to be open about his sexuality, as he was uncomfortable hiding a large part of himself away for many years. He is happily in a relationship, but will not talk about his significant other as he feels that that is between him and his partner._

 _Harry would like to thank the McFly fan base for their continuing support, and he, along with the rest of the band, hope to be out on tour again soon._

McFLYING OUT OF THE CLOSET

McFly's Harry Judd has just come out as gay! Can you believe it? We certainly can't! We got the exclusive gossip with the man himself!

Attitude Magazine: So Harry, you're officially 'out' now, how does it feel?

Harry: It's great actually, like a weight has been lifted off my chest.

Attitude: It can be such a relief, we know. What made you decide to come out now?

Harry: Recently I've felt a little... I guess you could say a little like a liar, for the best three years I've been hiding my sexuality, trying my best to keep it quiet and under the radar, and it didn't feel right. I didn't feel comfortable hiding this big part of myself away like that, so I wanted to set the record straight and stop hiding that part of me. I want to be honest with our fans, so this is me being honest.

Attitude: A very noble cause then, we commend you for it, not a lot of people would be so gutsy. Though more and more are coming out of the woodwork, so you're luckily not the first. How does it feel to be out now?

Harry: It's great, honestly. It feels a lot more free, like I can really be myself with everyone now, instead of having to watch what I was saying to hide it all.

Attitude: Wonderful, so any gossip on who your mystery man is, or is that remaining top secret for now?

Harry: I'm afraid I'll be leaving you hanging with that. My partner is a wonderful man, and is definitely my better half, but I'm afraid that currently he isn't ready to step into the spotlight. I'm more than happy to respect his wishes.

Attitude: Any chances we'll get to see him some time down the line?

Harry: Possibly, if he ever wants to. I won't pressure him, so if he doesn't want to, I'm not going to force him.

Attitude: Fair enough, it can be tough coming out, let alone watching your other half come out and step into the spotlight at the same time. Not many could cope with it. But rumour has it that your mystery man is none other than your band mate Dougie, what do you have to say to that?

Harry: (laughing) Oh I thought that that was just a fan theory! No we're not a couple; he's not my mystery man. He's just my band mate, and definitely one of my best friends, but he isn't my boyfriend!

Attitude: You two are awfully close though, we had to ask!

Harry: Yeah, we are close. Really, I kinda mother him a lot because when we started the band he was only fifteen, so he wasn't used to being away from his mum. I took over that role for him and now it's sort of stuck, to the point where I don't really like letting go of him!

Attitude: Doesn't that make your boyfriend jealous though?

Harry: Not at all, he's met Dougie and they're good friends themselves. He knows that we're just friends and it's just how we are with each other. What I have with my boyfriend is special; my friendship with another man couldn't get in the way of that. Anyway, Dougie's a bit smelly for me; I'd have to at least give him a good shower before I even thought about getting near a bed with him!

Attitude: Well there's hundreds of girls, and guys for that matter, who would take Dougie off your hands if it was ever needed. Back to the point though, how did all your band mates react to this news?

Harry: Really well in fact, I made sure I was honest with them from the start and never hid who I was from them. I actually told Tom and Danny I was gay from the first band audition, then told Dougie the day he was brought in as our bassist. So really they've all known from the start and they're all fine with it. They're happy that I'm happy, and are supporting me every step of the way through this journey, in fact they were the ones who encouraged me in the first place to come out. They saw that I was unhappy and Tom one day took me aside and told me that if hiding who I was was affecting me this much, I should stop hiding and making myself miserable. I thought about it for a while, talking it through with all of them, and they all said the same thing to me, so that's how it all came about really.

Attitude: Aw, it's lovely when band mates support band mates!

Harry: Yeah, it's great having them behind me through this. I think it would be far worse to do it by myself, I'm grateful for their support, and everybody else's too.

Attitude: That's brilliant, well we're very happy to have you batting on our team, you're helping pave a way for other people in a similar situation to yourself. Thank you for dropping by to have a chat.

Harry: And thank you for having me, it's been great.


	45. Chapter 45

44 Dougie's POV

"Well, that wasn't as bad as I thought it would be." I sighed, closing the magazine with Harry's interview inside. The interview had taken place a few days ago, paired with a few photos too. Just a few profile shots of Harry smiling, relaxing against the wall behind him. He looked lovely, relaxed and happy, like he should have been.

"Could have been a hell of a lot worse." Tom agreed, taking the magazine out of my hand to have another look over.

"And it wasn't too bad to do either. They were really nice, weren't too pushy, one of the best interviews I've ever done." Harry smiled, rubbing my shoulder.

"Great, I was hoping for that. It's a great positive start to this." Fletch encouraged, "Now let's hope the rest are the same."

"With any hope they will be. This should give the rest of the media some answers, shouldn't it?" Harry asked, eyes widening in fear.

"It should, but we should expect them to repeat the same questions again a few times, in case you give a different answer or get a reaction. Some will probably still be cruel, to all of you, but hopefully this positive start will set a trend for most of our appearances." Fletch explained with a small sigh.

"Perfect." Harry sighed too.

"We'll manage, it'll be easier together." I kissed his hand, rubbing my thumb over it.

"We can back each other up as well, change subject when it gets difficult, that sort of thing." Tom joined in.

"And crack a joke when it's needed." Danny continued, chewing on a nail. Tom wasn't even bothering to stop him like he usually did, that was surely not a good sign...

"Exactly, there are no more solo interviews are there?" Harry asked, I severely hoped there wasn't. Just this interview alone had worried me, thinking of Harry, all alone to face the wolves wanting to tear him down because of his sexuality. I'd been a nervous wreck, had tried everything to distract myself but hadn't settled until Harry had phoned to tell me how the whole thing had gone down.

"Nope, it's all entire band ones from now on. The only reason why this one was solo was because I thought it best for you to have a chance to go out by yourself in the safest environment. But from now on it's a whole band the media will have to face." Fletch nodded, thank God for that.

"Good, thanks for that. I, I don't want to do this alone." Harry pulled me closer; it took a lot for him to admit that. Admitting to needing help wasn't his strong point; he liked to be independent in his problems.

"We'd never let you do this alone." _I'd_ never let him do something like this alone. This would be the worst thing to go through without back up, facing the judging interviewers without anybody to change the subject or give support. That would be _awful_ to go through. If I could stay by Harry's side, make sure he didn't go through any of this alone, I would.

"None of us would." Tom agreed, pulling us in closer together.

"And I appreciate it, I really do." Harry smiled a bit, though he still looked worried.

"We wouldn't be anywhere else at a time like this, or any other time for that matter." I leant my head against his.

"I wouldn't expect you to go anywhere else. Though I must point out Attitude picked up on the theory that you two are together, we may have to watch out for that in the future." Fletch pointed to the questions about me and Harry. I hadn't even really noticed that, I was too busy worrying about the interviewer being too mean to my boyfriend.

"Yeah, though I think I handled that quite well, don't you think?" Harry chewed on his lip.

"You did great handling it, but I don't think it'll be the last you'll hear about it. There will always rumour, and people will want to get to the bottom of that. So I'd prepare yourselves for some more questions about it." Fletch sighed again, _bugger._

"Should we watch our hugging and stuff in public then, to stop the rumours?" I didn't want to do that, but if it helped... if anything, it could calm Harry's parents down, who hadn't shown a change in pace since Harry came out.

"I wouldn't completely cut it out, that will look suspicious. But maybe calm down a _little._ I wouldn't worry about wandering around with your arms around each other and the occasional hug, but I wouldn't risk kisses in the car or backstage like you usually do, even when you think you're alone. It wouldn't do good to get caught before it's time." Fletch advised, which didn't sound too bad I guessed.

Though watching our behaviour would be tough, it was so easy to just cuddle up to Harry backstage, and in public, because it was what we did. We were comfortable with each other, and while we were careful, we weren't too careful. Being careful wasn't going to pleasant, but if we had to, we had to. I guessed we could keep our relationship confined to the house for a while...


	46. Chapter 46

45 Danny's POV

Harry and Dougie were nervous from the recent interview, and about the changes to their behaviour. We all were, it was scary to think of how careful we would have to be nowadays because of this. It wouldn't just be Harry in the spotlight; it would be all of us. No doubt we'd all be watched closely from now on, in case someone caught any of us out. Me and Tom weren't out in the open either, getting caught out now wouldn't make this any better...

"I'd say we should all calm down a little, so none of us get caught out. It'll cause no end of trouble. Though we shouldn't stop all affection completely, that'll make it look like we've all fallen out and hate each other." Tom advised, fiddling with a pen.

"Which'll make it look like we don't like Harry being gay." I finished for him, biting at a nail.

"Exactly, so I think we should just not hold hands in public, or kiss outside the house. Hugs and general teasing should be fine though." Tom concluded, flicking the pen around his fingers, sort of like Harry did with his drum sticks.

"Well at least that'll keep my parents happy." Harry sighed, leaning his head in his hands.

"How so?" I asked, not following his line of thinking.

"I won't be holding hands with Dougie or acting like his boyfriend in public, they'll be _delighted_ to see that." Harry rolled his eyes sarcastically, "At least until we get to the day we announce that we're a couple, then hell is going to break lose."

"We'll cross that bridge when we come to it. For now, has there been any word from your parents since you came out?" Fletch asked.

"Same old letters, still 'get in the van' type cr*p, no real change." Harry answered almost mechanically, parroting the phrase like he'd done with us that morning when the latest letter arrived.

"Well the first note after the press release was sent out also said 'you better not be thinking of going public with that boy' but other than that there wasn't anything else." Dougie continued, I'd almost forgotten about that letter if I was honest...

"Ah, they may have figured out our plan." Fletch paused a minute, "Well, they can't prove anything, and maybe lessoning the affectionate moments between the two of you will dissuade them of that idea."

"We hope." Tom answered.

"We hope." Fletch repeated, not looking at all confident.

Fletch left a while later, stating that he had to get back to the office to talk to the record executives and figure out some back up strategies, or whatever else he was doing right now. Meanwhile, the rest of us decided to go to bed early, to try and rest up before we got into this press run again.

But I couldn't sleep; I was too busy worrying about what was going to happen, if we were going to get caught, if this was going to wind up Harry's parents further. We'd caused a _huge_ stir in the media, and were getting a lot of exposure from the press right now, Harry's parents already suspected our plan, if we actually went through with it I dreaded to think about what they'd do. It was a horrid situation, between the four of us, we had to answer as much as we could about Harry coming out without giving away the real reason why, or who Harry was actually dating, while keeping our relationships on the down low, and keep from angering Harry's parents further.

It felt like I couldn't breathe, like a tight band was wrapped around my chest, squeezing my ribcage so hard I could barely breathe at all. Tom's head on my chest made it harder, made it feel like there were huge weights on top of that band, keeping me from even moving. I was so scared, _so_ damn scared of what was going on. I didn't want this to screw up, didn't want this all to go wrong and for everybody to find out _everything_ about us.

Tucked up in this bed, I felt so alone, like I was literally the only person in the world, even with Tom by my side. And if I felt like this, what did Harry feel like? What did Dougie feel like? Were they feeling this lonely, as they were the ones going through this? Could they breathe? Were they even asleep, or were they awake like me? I couldn't even get up to check, and I couldn't ask in the day. All I could do was hope that they were managing well enough, that this was all just me. Was it though? Could it just be me? If it was, why was I feeling it? Why was I the only one feeling this, and I wasn't even the one in the spotlight at the moment!

This was horrible, when would it stop?


	47. Chapter 47

46 Harry's POV

"Doug, you're worrying." I mumbled into the pillow, feeling Dougie tense further beside me. He'd been tense all evening, and hadn't loosened up since crawling into bed either. It was because he was over thinking, and while I could see _why_ he was over thinking right now, I really wanted to sleep, and I could almost hear his brain whirring.

"Sorry, but, it's just... We're going out together for the first time since you came out soon. I'm, I'm scared, you know?" Dougie whispered, burying his face in my chest.

"So am I, but sitting around worrying about it will only make it worse. Try to go to sleep." I stroked his hair, hoping it would calm him, it sometimes did.

"How can I when there's so much at stake, so much for us to remember every time we leave the house?" Dougie looked up, bloodshot eyes wide with fear.

"Because you need to, we've been on tender hooks for days waiting for that magazine to come out, now that it has and things went okay, we can relax a little. You can't have many more sleepless nights like this, you'll collapse." I could see the dark bags under his eyes, even without the light on. Dougie was _exhausted;_ he looked about as exhausted as I felt if I was honest. He needed a rest; just a few hours of uninterrupted sleep would do him wonders right now. If only he could stop worrying and thinking every miniscule thing through.

"What about all the things that could go wrong? It's a war zone out there; _anything_ could happen during this press tour thing! At any moment we could say the wrong thing and wreck our careers in the eyes of the media, or p*ss off your parents so much they actually take some physical action against you or me or both and then where will we be? We need this all to blow over but the only way to do that is to behave and get this right but it's so hard to make this right that one false move could make everything come to light or anger the wrong person and it could all-" I covered Dougie's mouth with my hand.

"Whoa there, slow the hell down and _breathe_ before you suffocate! Now, whatever happens will happen. If we accident come out as a couple somehow, then we accidently come out as a couple. We have security surrounding us, and even if we don't, you'll know exactly where to point the police so you can find me. Our careers will be fine as the fans support us just as much as they did before, and if anything this has boosted our profile and gotten us more on people's radars. Having the media against us won't exactly be a good thing, but that doesn't stop us releasing albums or going on tour, that'll just mean we won't do many interviews, which to me sounds like a good thing. So _breathe,_ stop over thinking, everything is going to be okay. We're all going to be okay. Even if this does go wrong, we'll have each other, and that's the most important thing, wouldn't you say?" I made Dougie nod slowly.

"Good, now try to relax and go to sleep. We've only got a few days left before we're out for a first group interview, and I'd _really_ like to enjoy those days before things go mental." I sighed, pulling Dougie's head to its original position, which was resting against my chest.

"What if it does all go to hell though?" Dougie whispered so quietly I barely heard him.

"Then we did the best we could in the situation, and went down fighting. We'll still have each other, and we'll still have Tom and Danny. If people hate us for who we are, that's their issue, not ours. We're just like everybody else, and if they can't see that, then to hell with them. I couldn't care less if some tw*t hates us because of who we are in love with, and you shouldn't either." I answered, running a hand down his spine, hoping to massage the tension out of him.

"What if we p*ss off your parents and they try and get you back or do something really nasty to us?" Dougie asked, body slowly relaxing under my hands.

"Then our security guards will be put to good use. If they fail and I do get kidnapped or something, then I'll find my way back to you, just like I did last time. And you'll know exactly where I am, or at least have a good idea where to point the police. I'll soon be back with you." I wasn't scared of getting taken away and never seeing my best friends ever again. I knew that my parents couldn't take me away, not without the boys acting this time. And if they did, I didn't care about keeping in touch with them, they'd have crossed the line too many times, I'd be done with them if they tried to take me again. I doubted they would though, they weren't stupid and they knew they'd never get away with it.

If my parents cared about me at all, they'd leave me alone. If they actually did or not was another matter.


	48. Chapter 48

47 Dougie's POV

There were no signs of Harry's parents over the next few days, even the notes stopped. The car remained outside, but other than that, it all went quiet from them.

It was the press who were the problem. The press had gone _nuts,_ every newspaper and magazine had huge sections dedicated to Harry being gay, repeating basically everything we said in our interviews. Some were guessing over who Harry was dating, if he'd ever been seen with him outside. The answer to that was of course he had, but nobody was supposed to _know_ it was me, though that didn't stop them guessing at it being me. It terrified me to see how quickly the media and public jumped on the idea of me and Harry being together, I supposed we had been pretty obvious, but it wasn't like we had ever _kissed_ in public! We had just held hands and hugged! It wasn't that bad! How did they guess?! Was it that easy to guess?!

I was scared, so damn scared, what were we going to do? Harry's parents were no doubt seeing all this, and their notes had stopped, they were planning something! They had to be planning something now that the entire public was talking about Harry being gay and the possibility that I was his boyfriend, which was the exact opposite thing they wanted! What were they going to do to us for doing that?!

But this wasn't out fault, we didn't come out, only Harry came out, the public jumped to the rest of it! It was still being talked about though, they wouldn't like that... God what did we do?! Could we do anything?! It didn't look like it! The notes had stopped, that had to mean something, they were planning something, we had to plan a counter attack or something! We didn't know what they were going to do though!

"We've doubled the security everywhere we go, so nobody can physically get near you." Fletch was saying, even the lack of notes was scaring him. I thought I'd be happy when these messages stopped, but now I was terrified!

"Good, but what about anything else? We can't just up security when they could attack us from anywhere!" Tom asked, he was deathly pale as he asked, pulling all of us closer to himself, like it would protect us from harm.

"I don't have anything else for you. Having the security increase should keep them from kidnapping or anything else they try. The only thing they can do from afar is send threatening messages, which they've already tried. Everything else they need to get up close, and they can't get close with a load of security guards surrounding you." Fletch answered, shoving his hands in his pockets.

"Fine, but what do we do now? We didn't intend for the entire nation to jump onto our relationship so quick!" Harry panicked, tucking my head under his chin, letting me shiver uncontrollably in his arms.

"We just... We ride it out, I guess. I'm not entirely sure, we've never done this before, and none of us thought that this would happen. I just thought everyone would be too busy thinking about Harry being gay, not about who he was dating." Fletch ran his hands through his hair.

"But that hasn't happened; they've focused in on _us,_ which we didn't want just yet! What if this is the last straw for his parents? What if they decide to take serious action now?" I wanted to scream, scream and cry until things went back to how they should have been. Or at least until I could control what was happening! This was completely out of our control, it was completely our fault, we should have never even considered this an option. This was such a huge mistake...

"But what could they even do to us? They can't grab me, or out us, or give away any other information that could harm our careers." Harry asked, his thumb stroking my hair softly, contrasting badly with his tense body.

"I don't know, but that's why there's security, and I have people watching every TV channel and newspaper in case something else comes up, so we're prepared." Fletch answered.

"So it's all now just a waiting game, where we have to sit here and wait for something to happen?" I didn't want to sit around and wait for something! I wanted to take action! I wanted... I wanted to make sure that nothing bad happened. I'd been so scared that the press would do something, but the press I could handle. It was Harry's parents, I couldn't, they had so much power. They could threaten and try to take back their son, keep him away from us forever. They could do a number of things if they got close enough, and I _never_ wanted to risk Harry's life or our band for this.

"I'm sorry to say that it looks like it now. I've got people on the lookout, but I can't promise that there won't at least be an attempt of a counter attack. We're prepared for it, but I can't say for sure what the aftermath will be. We're just going to have to grin and bear it, carrying on as much as we can without letting on that something is happening, at least until it all blows over." Fletch gave us an apologetic look, and that scared me more than I thought possible.


	49. Chapter 49

48 Harry's POV

Security surrounded us everywhere we went, even if we were just running out to the shops for a few minutes. In fact, Fletch got so worried about us doing that that he got any shopping we needed delivered, anything we possibly needed, he got sent in. Then security checked through the bags, just to make sure nothing from my parents were inside them. Same with the post, everything got checked over. Nothing was left to chance, and nothing was left unchecked.

It was enough to make anybody paranoid, all of us worrying far more than we should have at the security measures. Nothing felt normal; we were being suffocated by guards at every turn. But what could we do? We couldn't relax the security, or take any chances. At any moment, anything could happen. We had to keep going, had to keep ourselves safe and out of harm's way, in case the worst should happen.

The worst being my parents taking me away from here and never letting me return.

The thought kept me up at night, had me tossing and turning in worry, so much so I could barely concentrate on anything else. Even when we were in interviews, I could only focus on what my parents would think of my answers, if I said one last thing that would tip them over the edge. They were quiet for now, but what would they do if I said one wrong word, let out one wrong thing?

"So Harry, is there a special man in your life?" The latest interviewer asked, bringing me back into the room.

"Yeah there is, but we've agreed on keeping our relationship private, he's not ready to step into the spotlight yet." I answered, the same answer every time. I didn't dare say _anything_ about my 'mystery guy' in case it was too revealing, or my parents disapproved of whatever I said. I couldn't even think of the criteria they usually went for with their matchmaking to keep them happy.

"Ah that's fair enough I guess. Is he your first boyfriend, or have you had a few in the past?" Was that _seriously_ going to be a question I had to answer? Nobody asked this if you were straight damn it!

"One in school, but other than that, no-one until my current boyfriend." I smiled politely through the stupid question, wishing more than anything that people would stop being so damn nosey. I was gay, _get the hell over it._

"And how did you realise that you were gay? Was there a special someone, or was it a case that you'd always known?" That was the third time I'd been asked that this week already.

"I think I'd always known really. It was just, I don't know, I never really _realised,_ it just kinda... It was always a part of me I never questioned." I shrugged, unsure of how else to answer. There wasn't really a point where I said to myself 'wait, I'm gay' it was just a think I'd always known. Even coming out to my family had been an easy thing to deal with, they had always known.

"Wow, nobody brought it out in you at all then?" _nobody brought anything out in a person, being gay wasn't a f*cking flick of a switch._ Being gay was like being... it was like being left or right handed. You were born one or the other, some people were then ambidextrous and used both hands, and some were useless with both and... This analogy was getting away from me.

"Nope, and nobody really helped me realise it either. I just always knew." I gritted my teeth, _just get through it. Just carry on._

"And how did you parents take you coming out? Were they supportive, were they against it? What happened there?" If only this presenter knew just how my parents felt about this entire situation.

"They were very supportive actually, they'd known, or at least expected, for a while. They didn't mind, and now it's not even really a 'thing' in my family, it's just another part of me." That didn't sound too bad did it? Not like my parents were angry for any reason whatsoever, or that they were totally happy with my situation either? It sounded alright, neutral? I didn't want them to think I was expecting them to suddenly approve of my choices, but I didn't want to make them out to be monsters either...

"That's great then I suppose. Better than them completely disapproving as some parents do." The interviewer commented, "So have they met your boyfriend yet, or are they being kept in the dark about him too?"

The lot of us tensed at the question, playing it off with nervous laughter.

"They've... They've met him yeah. Just the once, but, it went well I guess. As well as any first meeting with the in-laws goes." I answered, _please believe it, please believe it. And at the same time, Mum and Dad don't get mad, oh God_ _ **do not**_ _get mad._

"Well that's great then, good news all round with your family, that makes you very lucky." The presenter smiled, it reminded me of a shark.

"Yeah, lucky." I joined in nervously, if only anybody knew just how unlucky I was in this...


	50. Chapter 50

49 Dougie's POV

This was horrible, this was absolutely _terrible,_ who thought this was a good idea? Who honestly thought that sending us out to do interviews like this was a good idea? Any minute now I could feel this going wrong, these questions were getting close to the mark, anybody could get the wrong end of the stick and it could all blow up in our faces...

Why did so many interviewers want to know how Harry's family took Harry being gay? And how was it important to what was going on? Did they know these people what was going on? They surely couldn't know, _surely_ they couldn't! But if they did, surely they'd just ask outright? It felt like they _knew_ though, and that was terrifying. Could these interviewers ask something else please? Something that wouldn't get us into trouble with Harry's parents, indirectly or not.

"And how did you guys take finding out then? Were you shocked, disappointed, confused..?" Ugh, _really?_

"Of course not, we accepted Harry being gay as another part of him. He told us from the beginning and we simply accepted it, because we've never seen being gay as anything but a normal thing." Tom answered first; he was always the best to give answers like this.

"Yeah, to us, being gay is just another part of a person. So Harry being gay didn't bother us at all, we accepted it from the minute he told us." Danny joined in, scooting closer to us on the sofa, squashing himself between me and Tom.

"Harry's just Harry to us, to us it makes no difference who he dates, as long as he's happy." I piped up, I usually didn't. But I had to after being asked this for the third time this week. I _hated_ hearing all this, it was getting absolutely ridiculous, and if it continued I really didn't want to find out what Harry's parents thought of it all.

They could think _anything_ about what we were doing. All these questions about how they took him coming out should have been fine, but the questions about Harry's boyfriend, that was where things could go horribly wrong. We didn't know what we could say that was 'safe' to them; it was like we were on a knife edge!

"So do you ever hang out together with this mystery man? What do you think of him?" This was getting seriously invasive, could we go onto a freaking _safer_ topic?

"Harry's boyfriend is great, we get along with him really well and it's great whenever he comes round." I thought that sounded quite neutral, that wasn't hinting that I was Harry's boyfriend or anything, or was I making it worse by talking about this? God I didn't know what I was supposed to do!

"Yeah he's really good friends with the guys, which is really nice. It means he can come round and there's no awkward atmosphere or anything between everybody, it's all good around the band house." Harry joined in, leaning back and subtly putting his arm around my shoulders, apparently sensing that I needed him to hug me.

I felt so exposed, and I wasn't even the one under the spotlight right now! I was under scrutiny, but I wasn't the centre of attention, yet it still felt like my skin was crawling off with everybody staring at me. I didn't know what to do, how to even _sit._ I wanted to lean against Harry, curl up in his arms and show him some love, that he wasn't alone, and reassure myself that _I_ wasn't alone too. I wanted to go home and stay there, hidden away from this pressure, so I couldn't screw this up. Screwing up would be so easy, it could happen with just a wrong word, and I had _no idea_ on what to say during these interviews, none of us did!

It was that worry, were we too close, did we look like we were flirting, were we accidently dropping hints that we were a couple? I was trying so hard to keep distance while not looking like we'd fallen out, but it was so _hard,_ I couldn't keep up with that and the conversation at the same time! How did people do this? _Did_ they do this? This was a complete nightmare!


	51. Chapter 51

50 Harry's POV

Eventually, we were let go from the interview and allowed home, all of us racing into the car, avoiding looking at the second car that had been following us around for weeks now.

"What the hell was that all about?! _Do we get along with your boyfriend?_ Why the _hell_ would that matter?!" Danny shouted the minute we were on the road, knowing better than to shout it in a corridor filled with people.

"Because people are apparently f*cking nosey." I sighed, leaning my head against the headrest, feeling exhausted. We had been running all over London doing these interviews, I was running out on energy, and quickly.

"But that's private! And what does it matter if we did or not? It doesn't affect the band or anything! Also why the hell do they want to know if your _parents_ like him or not?" Danny continued, long arms waving like it would prove his point.

"It's like they knew something was going on." Dougie piped up, he was looking _pale,_ like death warmed up. I reached over and took his hand in mine, something I'd wanted to do since we stepped out of this car in the first place.

"I don't think they do know, they'd have outright asked if they did know that anything was amiss with your family lives." Fletch reasoned, which sounded reasonable, yet it was still worrying to think that the press may actually know something about what was going on. That could cause issues down the line...

"Still though, if they know, it's a bit worrying." I bit my lip, not exactly wanting to think about that possibility right now.

"It's probably nothing. They're asking because they want gossip, and apparently you being gay isn't enough. They want a good story to stick their teeth into, something to write loads about that's got lots of dark and juicy details behind it. It'll pass eventually." Fletch reassured, it didn't exactly feel all too reassuring right now...

"Hopefully that'll be sooner rather than later, before we manage to get into trouble." Tom glanced back at me, though I think everyone in the car knew exactly what he was on about.

"Not if you're careful with what you say." Fletch answered, trying to sound positive, it didn't exactly sound all too positive to me...

"We're trying Fletch, but it's not easy. We don't know what we're going to be asked, so we can't prepare for it. Sometimes there isn't an easy way to answer a question, especially if the person doing the interview is getting pushy." I sighed, didn't Fletch understand this? It was _hard_ to come up with answers that didn't piss off parents when we didn't know what was coming. If we had some sort of prewarning to what we were going to be asked, we'd be okay. But we didn't, so we were literally making stuff up on the spot and hoping for the best.

"I understand that, but at the moment we're just having to make do and try our best. But I can promise you now, _you're safe,_ nobody is going to get to you while you're with us. We've got security everywhere we go, and surrounding your house. If we get even a hint of something going south, I can easily get all of you to some place safe. So even if you do manage to wind up your parents that step too far, you're not going to get harmed in the process." Fletch promised, yet I somehow couldn't fully believe him.

My parents were resourceful, and more importantly, had the money to get things done their way. If they wanted to get me back, I had a feeling that they could easily get past our security measures. And if they had another way of getting me back, I didn't doubt they'd try it. That was what scared me, the idea that they could do any number of things to get me back, and that time and money wasn't an issue for them either. We could throw as much security around as we liked, but if my parents found the right person, they could do _anything_ they wished.

All we could do to stop this was watch what we said. We had nothing else but our words, and that was _terrifying._


	52. Chapter 52

51 Dougie's POV

As we did more and more interviews, the more and more scared I got that we were going to be found out, or we were going say the complete wrong thing. So many interviewers questioned how Harry's parents were taking him being gay, and having to answer those questions without lying through our teeth was _so_ hard. And when they started asking about Harry's boyfriend it got so much more difficult, especially when asking if I was the infamous boyfriend.

Even when they were joking, it was a nightmare, I couldn't even joke along like I used to. I was forced to sit there and deny it all in fear of Harry's parents getting too angry at me. They already hated my guts; if they saw me do something like that... it didn't bare thinking about.

Fletch was of no use whatsoever, saying to wait it out and it would all blow over, but that didn't help! How was that supposed to work when this didn't seem to be stopping any time soon? When I was getting so sick of hiding who I was, that I was going to scream soon if I couldn't actually say that I was in love with Harry, and that we were a couple? I wanted to just shout it from the rooftops, tell the whole world how much I loved him, and beg them to not judge us. We were just like everyone else, we were a couple in love and that shouldn't be _huge_ news. We were exactly as we had always been, there was now just a little bit more to our public relationship, what was so wrong with that?!

I was exhausted of all of this, I wanted it over and done with, or at least to have a break. I would have loved to have a break, just me and Harry for a few days, getting to be ourselves again without worry. This whole thing was putting a strain on our relationship, we weren't as close when we were at home, I felt like Harry was getting distant from me. He spent so much time _thinking_ now, even when we were in bed together; he always seemed to be busy thinking. We hadn't made love much at all. He was so off it was worrying me.

"Harry, are you okay?" I asked him, stroking his face gently.

"Yeah, I'm fine. I'm just a bit tired, this is all getting a bit much, you know?" Harry sighed, but I could tell there was more behind it.

"There's something more going on, what's up? Tell me what's going on inside that head of yours." He usually told me everything; I didn't understand why he wasn't telling me things now.

Unless it was about me, could it be about me? Was this whole thing making him re-evaluate our relationship and giving him second thoughts?

No, that definitely wasn't true; Harry _loved_ me, that was solid. What we had together was solid, we had been through so much together, he wouldn't leave over this. He still held me close, he was just thinking... yeah, he was just thinking, that was it.

"Nothing, I'm just thinking up of other ways to cover this up in interviews. Their questions are getting a bit near the truth, you know?" Harry answered, managing a smile.

Why was he lying? It was written all over his face! Why wasn't he telling me the truth? He should be telling me things, I was his _partner,_ he should tell me things like this!

I didn't question it though, not wanting to start an argument. Instead I curled into his arms and pushed my head into his chest, wanting to feel him close to me right now. I didn't want to think about him lying to me, about something making him act so distant, about what fresh hell we would go through tomorrow.

"I love you." I whispered, wanting him to know that. I _loved_ him, and while I could be worrying over nothing, I wanted him to hear it either way. I loved him, this whole thing didn't change that, I _loved_ him with all my heart.

"I love you too Doug, always have, always will." Harry squeezed me tight, stroking my hair as we fell into silence again. He was thinking again, the hand running through my hair being an automatic, almost mechanic, movement while he lost himself inside his head.

Why couldn't he just tell me what he was thinking?!


	53. Chapter 53

52 Harry's POV

I could tell that Dougie was sensing that something was wrong with me, but couldn't tell what it was. I wasn't about to tell him though, not yet anyway. Worrying him over what my parents were capable of wouldn't help anything. He was already too stressed for words, adding that _'oh yeah, did I forget to mention that my parents are really damn rich and powerful, so have infinite resources'_ would not be helping anybody. It was best to carry on as normal, keeping the stress level to the lowest possible level.

We couldn't actually stop anything anyway, if my parents wanted me to back, they would get me. I knew that, had resigned myself to that in fact. But if they did get me back, then at least the boys would know where I was and could direct the police in the right direction to get me back, if that didn't work... Well I'd think of something, I had escaped once, I could do it again. Security around the house was probably increased by a ridiculous amount, and I doubt either of my siblings would be trusted alone with me again, but I would come up with something. I had spent a lot of my life sneaking around a ridiculously posh boarding school, I could get around my parents house.

Right now, the best I could do was lay here and be close with Dougie. I didn't want to be distant with him, but I couldn't annoy my parents more, or tip off the public either. At home I wanted to be close again, but I was so preoccupied that I forgot to hold him close and tell him how much I loved him. That was why I was stroking his hair and holding him close now, making the most of the time we had together, and reassuring him that I still wanted to be with him. God I wanted to be with him. Every day, all the time. Like we used to be, before this happened. We used to be almost glued together, Tom and Danny used to joke that we were surgically attached to each other. Now it was almost like there were cracks between us, cracks I never wanted to appear. All because of my parents and their prejudice.

If my parents weren't so anti-Dougie, I would have married him by now, would have proposed by his 18th birthday. Dougie was the only one for me, nobody else even compared to him. And I had known that from day one. We got along so well, had become a solid team that nobody could break. He understood me more than anybody else did, and I understood him too. Despite our hugely different upbringings, we just _clicked_ so easily, something I hadn't ever experienced before, and probably never would again. I wouldn't let him slip through my fingers if I could help it.

I had it all planned out in my head too. I'd take him out for a nice dinner, one of his favourite restaurants, before taking him on a walk somewhere quiet. Dougie didn't like being in the spotlight too much, and proposing in front of a tonne of people would have only embarrassed him, so taking him somewhere quiet and out of the way would be vital. If it was a clear night, we would star gaze together, because Dougie _loved_ space, and when the timing was perfect, I'd get down on one knee and ask him to marry me. It sounded cliché, but in my head it sounded perfect.

"I love you." I whispered after Dougie had fallen asleep, kissing his hair gently so I didn't wake him. In response he pressed closer, his hand curling around my arm protectively.

I smiled to myself at him, thinking that he was so cute like this. I hated breaking his heart in every interview we did by denying that I was in love with him. It was necessary but I still hated to do it to him. Once we got to come out properly it would be better, we could be as open as we liked, I could shout out my love if I fancied it. And I would do so, and as soon as I was sure that we were safe from my parents, I would propose. Yes, I would propose after all this was over. That sounded like a great idea.

Yes, I would make up for all of us by proposing as soon as I was sure that it was okay to do so. Once the press and my parents were calmer about this, I would propose and we would finally be happy again.

Actually, thinking about it. I wouldn't take us to a field to star gaze, I'd take Dougie on a long weekend on a boat. He loved all things to do with pirates, and was always talking about spending a few days on a boat and experiencing what it would be like. I'd take him for that boat trip, just the two of us, and we'd sail together for a while, experiencing life at sea, star gazing at night and going whole hog with the whole boating experience. And on our last night at sea, under the stars, I'd pop the question, down on one knee and everything. Yeah, Dougie would like that more than standing in some field after a nice meal. I'd do that, as soon as this all blew over, after we were both out in the open, and my parents were okay with what was between us. I'd propose then, and we would be so happy together.

If only I knew how long I would have to wait for that.


	54. Chapter 54

53 Dougie's POV

"So boys, there's so much talk at the moment about who the famous mysterious boyfriend is," Oh God this interviewer wasn't going there, please say he wasn't going _there,_ "And you're all keeping incredibly tight lipped, how are you even managing it? We don't know anything about this mystery man Harry, not even his name!"

"Well it's because he wants his privacy, and I'm fully respecting that." Harry answered, body subtly straightening up, like he was preparing for a fight.

"Fair enough on that mark, but we don't know anything else! We don't know what he's like, or what he does, or how you met, surely you can give us a little bit of information can't you? We can't work anything out from that, and if you don't, we're all going to keep on thinking you're with Dougie." The interviewer's eyes glinted with mischief. He went there; he _actually_ went there, oh my God what were we going to do?!

"We can't have everybody thinking that, he's like my brother." Harry ruffled my hair; I pushed his hand away, pretending that that didn't hurt at all. I hated watching him deny that he loved me; it _scared_ me to hear him say it. One of my worst fears was losing Harry in any sense of the word, and hearing him deny our relationship, coupled with his recent behaviour, really, really _hurt._

"Of course, that would be very weird." Interviewer joined in, "So what can you tell us about your man? Or are you so sworn to secrecy you can't say _anything?_ "

"Well, I can tell you that erm... He's..." I could see the cogs frantically turning in Harry's head, "He's a lovely human being to start with, who's incredibly kind and loving. And we kinda met by accident, we bumped into each other at a cafe and somehow got talking, I'm not even sure how if I'm completely honest. We hit it off from there and have been inseparable ever since." Harry explained, that sounded half like how we met. Only we had met opposite a cafe, outside the band auditions... though we had first laid eyes on each other when Harry was still inside the cafe, waiting for the auditions to start. We hadn't hit it off instantly though, that had taken until we got into the band house, and started really talking. I had complimented him on his Starting Line t-shirt that day though.

"Aw, that's quite sweet..." The interviewer pressed on, wringing every detail he could out of Harry possible, and even tried to get us to spill some more too.

It was horrible, sitting there and listening to Harry describe his 'boyfriend' who sounded more and more like the opposite of me. He started using the same cover idea every time he was asked about his boyfriend, and while I knew _why_ he was doing what he was doing, it still hurt. Obviously he was describing the complete opposite of me to please his parents and put everyone else off the scent that we were dating, yet it was making me really self conscious of who I was at the same time. I hated hearing him talk about loving someone who was so different from me, it made me feel incredibly inadequate and _wrong_ for him. I shouldn't have but I _did,_ I couldn't help but feel like it, no matter how many times I told myself that this was all complete rubbish and that Harry loved _me,_ not some posh perfect imaginary man.

But he was describing the exact same kind of people his parents were introducing to him at their party, the type of people he had been brought up to like and consider worthy of his love. And I was _nothing_ compared to a well brought up, successful, clever man. I came from a poor family, had absolutely no qualifications to my name and while I was successful in this band, I wasn't in some _respectable_ job either. I couldn't help but feel in those interviews that Harry would be better off with a man like he was describing, not with me.

And the inadequacy didn't go away, it played heavily on my mind constantly, and no matter how many times Harry told me he loved me, or how hard he held me tight in bed, his mental absence helped solidify my worries in my head. Though I wasn't going to let him go, not right now. At this moment, Harry was _mine,_ and I was going to enjoy for as long as possible. I wasn't going to love anybody like I loved this man, and I wasn't going to let him go, not just yet. I loved him more than anything; I never wanted him to leave me. Even if it seemed inevitable, I _never_ wanted him to leave me alone again.


	55. Chapter 55

54 Harry's POV

I could tell that what I was saying was hurting Dougie, but would choice did I have? I had to make it sound like I was dating the complete _opposite_ to him, to put everybody, including my parents, off the scent. If I turned round and said 'oh yeah my boyfriend has the dirtiest mind ever, plays bass and _really_ like reptiles and Blink 182' everyone would know exactly who I was on about - I may as well shout 'I'm dating Dougie Poynter' from the roof tops!

Still though, I wished I wasn't doing this to him, the poor boy was looking _so_ upset, I was breaking his heart, and I couldn't do anything about it. All I could do was hold him close while we were at home, tell him over and over that I loved him. But it didn't seem to work much; all it really did was make him cling to me harder than usual, literally squeezing me tight to him, burying his face in my chest and refusing to move. When he used to do that, it was cute, now it was worrying, like Dougie was savouring every second of this because he thought it would all break apart at any minute.

"Are you sure you're not putting us off the scent Harry? You and Dougie are rather close." Would this interviewer _stop_ now, I couldn't repeat myself any further than I already had. I wasn't about to trip up, though I wished I could, just to stop Dougie looking like _that,_ like I'd just killed his hopes and dreams.

"I'm really not, I'm telling the truth. Dougie is just my best friend, but I'm not dating him." I tried my best not to glare at this interviewer, it wouldn't help matters much.

"Yeah, Harry and Dougie are more like brothers than anything else. Harry's kinda helped raise Dougie since day one of this band, because Dougie was so young when we first started out." Tom spoke up again, at least moving the attention to him for a few minutes. I squeezed Dougie's shoulder in comfort, it didn't exactly do much to help him, he still looked like he wanted to curl in a ball and die. At least this interview wasn't being filmed, and was instead for a magazine, that should save us _some_ trouble at the least.

"Ah, how so?" Well this was slightly better ground.

"I taught him have to shave and how to drive. Well, I'm still teaching him to drive, but you get the point, big things like that, things that parents should do. But Dougie didn't get the chance to do that with his parents because he moved in with us, so I took over so he didn't miss out." I answered. _Please don't mention Dougie's dad, please, please, please. The last thing he needed was a reminder that his parents were divorced because his dad walked out on them._

"Aw, that's quite sweet. That would make a romantic relationship between you very difficult; it would sort of be like dating a parent then." I held in a wince at the idea, wishing she would _shut up._

"Yeah, kinda." I laughed weakly instead, _just keep them happy and we can leave, keep them happy, don't say anything that they can jump on, just leave it and carry on playing happy families._

"Alright, I'll believe you, half the nation wouldn't though." The interviewer giggled, I was so taking Dougie on the boating trip when this was over. We both deserved the break, especially if this line of questioning continued for much longer. I was _gay_ for God sake, all this damn pestering wasn't needed, no matter how damn close to the truth it was...

"So how does your boyfriend feel about you and Dougie being so close, and everybody being certain that the two of you are together?" Interviewer continued, wasn't this hell over? What I wouldn't give to go back to questions like 'what's your favourite ice cream?'

"Oh he's fine with it. He knows that I love him and Dougie in different ways. I love him in a romantic sense, but with Dougie it's more like a brotherly, familial way. That comes out in hugs and hand holding some times, and he's totally okay with it, because he knows that I wouldn't cheat on him with anybody." I really _hated_ saying that, I could almost feel another bit of Dougie's heart being torn out with every word I spoke. When was this going to be over?! I wanted this _over_ now!

"Ah, it's always good to have that security, and have the lines laid out properly, so nobody gets confused, or ends up doing something to break the others heart." Well _dur,_ I thought that was obvious! Did this woman think that just because I was gay I was going to jump anything that moved? Seriously, that couldn't be further from the truth, being gay was just another sexuality, it didn't suddenly make me a cheater or anything!

"So there's no jealousy or anything between the three of you, even if you end up hugging Dougie in front of this boyfriend of yours? And he doesn't get jealous or possessive or anything?" My God let it go already!

"No, there's no possessive jealousy or anything. My boyfriend understands that me and Dougie have a special bond and respects that, Dougie respects that I have a boyfriend and I respect them both. It works just fine like that, and that's how we have always worked, and will continue to do so." this time I did glare at her, she was an _idiot_ and I hated her. I swear she hadn't been this ignorant in our last interview with her...

"And how does that make you feel Dougie? Do you ever feel left out or lonely in this arrangement?" She did not just go there and ask that!

"No, it's fine. I have these two anyway." Dougie pointed at Tom and Danny, "So I'm never alone." He managed to make that sound like the truth, for that I commended him.

"No jealousy on your side then?" obviously not because he had nothing to be jealous of. Instead he was being made to feel insecure and cast aside in all of this. My poor boy, if I could have held him close and kissed him I would have.

"Nope. Just fine on my side. Harry's happy, his boyfriend is happy, and so am I, that's all that matters in the end." Dougie put on a smile that didn't reach his eyes; my heart broke inside my chest for him.


	56. Chapter 56

55 Dougie's POV

I hated this interviewer, this interview, and everything involved. Couldn't she leave me alone, I didn't want to talk about being jealous of Harry and his boyfriend, because I was jealous even though this boyfriend was made up. I had no reason to be jealous and yet I was, I was so jealous, and hated the imaginary man I had created in my mind. I hated all of this, it was a ridiculous thing to be a part of and I hated that I had to agree and play along with it.

"I'm happy for Harry and his boyfriend, he's a good friend, he's like another brother." I smiled sweetly, trying not to sound sarcastic or like I wanted out of here.

"Aw, that's adorable!" Yes so cute, I was lying my ass off just to please the world and Harry's asshole parents who couldn't stand the thought of me, how absolutely adorable.

"Well I think that's a wrap for today, thank you all for coming, it's been a pleasure." With one last smile and a 'thanks' we ran out of the room and back to the car, breathing a collective sigh of relief.

"Doug, are you okay?" Harry squeezed my shoulder; I let him, though right now I would have preferred to be left alone.

"Fine, just perfect." I leant against the window, curling into a ball in the seat and hugging my knees.

"I'm sorry, for what I said in there, but there wasn't really a choice in it, you know?" Harry apologised, sliding his hand down to hold onto my own.

"I know, I just... I'm still not fond of hearing it." I didn't hold his hand, but didn't pull away either. I wanted him close, really I did, but at the same time I needed to be alone for a while.

"Sorry, if I could say _anything_ else, literally anything, I would. But we have to put them all off the scent, if I had my way, I'd be shouting out that you were my lover and about how brilliant you are." Harry's eyes begged me to believe him. And I did, I believed that he would, but it was just so hard to deal with this. I would have preferred dealing with the threatening letters than this. At least the insults were directing straight at me because I was recognised as Harry's other half.

"I get that... just... can you not encourage the brotherly bond so much? Or make it seem like I'm a helpless loner please? I'd really rather not deal with that." I couldn't do anything about the whole fake boyfriend jealousy, but I could at least try to get rid of the 'aw he's so helpless he's sharing someone's boyfriend' narrative surrounding me at the moment. I was _not_ helpless, not in the slightest. Yes I was shy and filled with anxiety most of the time, but damn it I could do things like make friends when I needed to, I didn't need to be a part of some sort of time share with my drummer.

"Of course, I'll try my best, not sure what I can do about the interviewers saying it, but I'll tone it done, if that's what you want." Harry promised, giving me a small smile.

"Thank you." I gave him an even smaller one back.

"Anything for you Doug, you know that." Harry pulled my closer to kiss my forehead, before letting me settle against his chest for a hug on the way home.

I couldn't help but snuggle closer, taking in the feeling of being held like this, revelling in the fact that _I was the only one allowed this._ Not some fake boyfriend, not Tom or Danny, not anybody else but _me._ Sure we were acting like Harry had a fantastic, perfect boyfriend who met his parent's high standards, and it hurt like hell every time we were questioned on it, but in the back of this car, right now, _I was the one being held._ And I was the one being _loved._ Currently that's all that mattered, that Harry _loved_ me, I just needed him to love me, that was all. I just needed him to love me.


	57. Chapter 57

56 Harry's POV

I tried my best, I honestly did try my absolute best to play down the 'Dougie's like my brother' thing, and put an end to the idea that Dougie was being shared between me and my fake boyfriend like he was incapable of finding love by himself. But it seemed impossible some days, interviewers were all so hard set on that idea that it was hard to get them to stop, once one jumped on the idea, they _all_ jumped on the idea and kept going at it without much of a care that it was hurting Dougie's feelings.

"I mean, Dougie's my best friend, and I guess he is like my brother too. But he's sort of... he's my best friend and we have this really close connection, which is great to have with someone. And we kinda... we really clicked the first time we got to sit and talk together, as just the two of us, so we've formed this bond over the years that's really close. And my boyfriend understands that, I've known Dougie longer than I've known him, and he doesn't want to get in the way of our friendship, same way Dougie doesn't want to get in the way of our relationship." My God this sounded _awful,_ but I was running out of explanations and words!

It was so hard to not just say 'look Dougie is my boyfriend, we're together, let's just cut all this rubbish and deal with it' because this was getting ridiculous. I had no idea what I was trying to say, or what I was trying to do. I was really just trying to do right by Dougie at the moment, trying to do as he wished. But the restriction was so _hard._

"We're all like it really. We're a band of brothers, and we always make sure that in any relationship we have with anyone, they know that the band, and each other, comes first. We've all known each other for four years now, and have spent more time with each other than anybody else on this planet, so we are now extremely close, so we do take that priority with each other." Tom joined in, somehow managing to word this better than I could. Never before had I been so thankful that he was as articulate as he was.

"Yeah so sometimes it makes Harry and Dougie look like a couple, because that's how they work, and everyone we know is okay with that." Danny concluded, smiling like he was begging these people to believe him and for them to move on from this.

"Ah now that sounds like a cover story to stop us prying." _Dear Lord why?_ Couldn't they all just... _sod off_ with this now?! How many times had we reiterated the point that me and Dougie weren't a couple these past few weeks? Even if we were lying, they should have believed us by now!

"Well I can assure you it isn't a cover up, it's the truth. Dougie and me are just best friends." I hated not being able to hold Dougie's hand; I wasn't even sat next to him right now so I couldn't even subtly put my arm around him. The poor boy had been shoved to the opposite end of the sofa; I could barely even see the back of his head out the corner of my eye right now, what I wouldn't give to know what he looked like at this very moment!

"Are you _sure_ best friends act like you two do? You are awfully close, there is photographic evidence of the two of you holding hands and you do hug a lot." The interviewer leered at me, _sh*t, they were persistent._

"Maybe not all best friends but we do. Everybody's friendships are different, and mine and Dougie's has just manifested itself the way it has over the years by chance. Yes we hold hands and hug a lot; it's just how we are. I like to hug Dougie, and Dougie likes to hold hands, we're comfortable enough in ourselves and my other half is also happy to let me do those things with Dougie when we're together. It's just how we are." I tried insisting, wishing above anything else that this would _stop._ Before this angered my parents, before I said something I knew I'd regret later. I was breaking the love of my life's heart, and I couldn't do anything to prevent it, even though I wanted to!

"And what about the reports of people seeing you two _kissing,_ that just platonic too?" reports of what now!?

"That was probably just some drunken dare or something. We all playfully kiss each other all the time." I quickly defended myself, a string of swearwords rushing through my head as I desperately tried to come up with a cover story for this.

"Oh do you really, because we have reports that you looked entirely sober, and not like you were being dared to do anything." _why?! Why, why, why, WHY?!_

"It's a game that we play. We like to kinda attack-kiss each other; see if it grosses anybody out or something. It's all part of a game; any kisses you may or may not have seen have been a part of a game we were playing." I insisted, _somebody back me up right now, I needed back up!_

"Yeah! It's all a game; we play it all the time to put each other off doing things! Same with hand holding and hugging too! Sort of like we're hugging someone to stop them doing something they need to do!" Tom explained, articulate speech replaced with incredibly rushed sentences.

"Ah-huh, if you say so, _thousands_ wouldn't." The interviewer smirked.

"Look, no matter what your reports say, it doesn't change the fact that _me and Dougie aren't a couple._ We have never been a couple and we _never_ will be. Everything we do is born out of a close knit friendship that has grown over the past four years, and any kisses that have been seen are part of a game we play to wind each other up. It's nothing more than that, Dougie is just my best friend, that is literally it, he's _nothing_ more. I'm not dating him, I have never been on a date with him, and I'm not planning on doing so either. There are no romantic feelings between us, just friendship related ones." I was _really_ going to be paying for all this later...


	58. Chapter 58

**indigosky17 - they really don't, but there isn't much they can do now!**

57 Dougie's POV

Every word Harry said was like a stab to my heart, hearing him point blank say that he didn't love me romantically, that we would _never_ be a couple, it was _agony._ Even if it was all lies, it tore my heart to pieces hearing him say those things; I wanted to rip my ears off so I didn't hear anymore. It was torture hearing him say all of that; I could hardly believe I was hearing him say all those things.

Finally, we were let go and could finally make out way back to the dressing room, where I burst into tears as soon as the door closed. It had been so hard to hold them in that long, all I could hear were those words echoing in my head, over and over, like my worst nightmares were coming true. I'd never wanted to hear Harry say those words, I never wanted to hear him say them ever again either. I wished he'd never said them, I wished he had just admitted to our relationship instead. It would hurt less, all the questioning about that wouldn't be as bad as hearing him say what he did out there.

"Oh Dougie, honey I'm so sorry." Harry wrapped his arms around my shoulders.

"Don't touch me. I don't want you to hold me right now." I pushed him away, I wanted to be left alone, I didn't want him to touch me, not until I had calmed down. I couldn't think while I could hear what he said about me continually. It hurt too much.

"Dougie, I had no other choice. If I could have said anything else, I would have, but I had to be harsh or they wouldn't believe it." Harry apologised, at least not trying to touch me again.

"Did you? Did you have to be _that_ harsh out there? That I am _nothing_ more than your best friend, that every affectionate thing we have ever done is a part of a game, that we will be nothing more than friends forever? Did you have to say all those things? Couldn't soften that, not even a _little?_ " I cried, wishing I wasn't. I wanted to be angry with him, I wanted to hurt him like he hurt me just then, but I couldn't even do that. I was too upset to even think about doing something like that in retaliation.

"I'm so sorry, so, _so_ sorry. I wasn't thinking, I was panicking because they were getting too close to the truth. There was nothing else I could think to say to put them off the scent." Harry looked so sorry, _good_ he should feel sorry. He'd just broken my heart.

"Because admitting to being with me is _that_ terrible that we have to lie?!" This was all my anger talking, but I couldn't stop talking, couldn't help but let all these insecurities fall out of me. I'd been thinking it so much recently; I couldn't get it to stay inside my head anymore.

"NO! God no Dougie, I love you! If I could I would shout that from the rooftops! But if we don't carry on lying, my parents-" Harry started.

"F*ck your parents Harry! F*ck them! What's more important, what they think, or our relationship? Why do we have to keep on lying to please them? Why can't we just be together and not care what they think?!" I didn't understand, why couldn't we just continue without their approval?! They were a*sholes, why the hell did we have to bow to them and their wishes?! What was more important, their happiness or ours?! To me, the answer was clear, why wasn't it to Harry?

"Because if we don't carry on pleasing them they'll hurt me or you! I don't want them to hurt you okay?! I'll take whatever they throw at me but I won't let them hurt you because I care too much about you!" Harry shouted, "Can't you see that?! We've talked about it often enough!"

"Do we? You never talk to me anymore! You're away with the fairies constantly, you're never _with_ me, I barely know what's going through your head at any time!" I shouted back.

"I've been _worrying_ about _you_ all this time! I'm sorry for being too worried to think straight and not paying you enough attention!" Harry hissed, it sounded like an insult.

"Well _sorry_ for wanting some attention after you've spent all days acting like it would end the world if you _dated_ me! God forbid anybody think that you, posh and well off, had _anything_ to do with someone as common as me!" I hated myself for saying it, hated that I was shouting all of this, but I couldn't stop. I was just so _upset_ and _angry_ and _tired_ of this sh*t, I wanted this _over_ and it didn't look like it was ever going to stop.

"You know what? F*ck you if you think that. I have never thought of this as me _lowering_ myself, I had never thought myself as higher than you! If you're too insecure to see that then that's your problem!" Harry turned round and stormed out.

"Fine then! Just walk away!" I shouted after him, collapsing on the sofa in tears. We had never fought like that before, _never._ We'd had a few falling outs, but we'd made up soon after; it was always over little things. We had never fought like this; I'd never said such nasty things to him in my life.

"Whoa." Danny commented, "That was... That was intense."

"And we probably shouldn't have left Harry by himself without security following him." Tom made me realise that all the security guards were with the three of us, looking awkward after that argument.

"SH*T." I darted out of the room, running out towards the parking lot. _Please let Harry be there, please let him be safe. Please, please, please!_ He couldn't have gotten into trouble now, we were still being followed by that blacked out car, and we had left him alone! I couldn't believe... we hadn't just done that, oh _f*ck._

I raced to the parking lot, finding our minivan, but no blacked out car. Or Harry.

"Harry? Harry?" I called out, spinning in circles, trying to spot him.

"HARRY!"

There was no reply.


	59. Chapter 59

**indigosky17 - thank you! and they're going to be apart for a while longer ;)**

58 Harry's POV

I was moving... there was... there was movement. But I wasn't walking, or moving myself. There was a loud sound, it was... It was a car! I was in a car, why was I in a car? I'd been outside, I'd just run outside to cool down. I didn't remember getting in a car... I couldn't remembering getting in a car. And why was I lying down?

Oh no... I couldn't move my hands, or my feet. Oh God _no._ Oh sh*t, sh*t, sh*t! My parents... the blacked out car! I was in the blacked out car, probably being driven to my parents! No, no, oh God no!

I slowly opened my eyes, finding I was on the back seat, judging by the fact that I was facing the back cushioning. There was a blanket over my body, probably to hide my tied hands and feet in case someone looked in. I didn't dare move, in case the driver noticed, feeling my heart speeding up to an alarming rate in panic. My parents had me, oh God my parents had me, and I had left Dougie after that argument. We had never fought like that, I'd said some terrible things, and now I was leaving him without apologising.

Would he think I'd left him? Would he think that I'd gone back to my parents willingly and leave me to it? I didn't know, I'd been taken before he could find me after that fight. Oh God that fight was awful, I'd said so many horrible things, how could I have said the things I did?! I didn't want to think about it, I'd been too cruel for words, should have never had said the things I did. And now I was here, inside this car, being taken back home to my parents for them to try and have their wicked way with me.

Sh*t this wasn't good, this _really_ wasn't good. I wouldn't be able to escape easily again, they'd have upped security, wouldn't trust me with my siblings anymore, not after my last escape with Katherine. I'd have to find a way to get a message to the boys so they knew that I wasn't doing this deliberately, I hadn't left them and I needed help. I wouldn't be able to get out by myself; I'd need the police or something.

Sh*t, sh*t, this wouldn't be easier! What was I going to do?! How was I going to do this? And when Dougie even want to see me again after everything I'd said to him, I'd been so cruel to him today. We'd both said some f*cked up stuff out there, and I knew I was so _sorry_ for what I'd said. Hopefully Dougie felt so too, and if he didn't, I had to make it up to him. Had to show him that I did care more about him than I did about Mum and Dad and their feelings. I definitely cared more about Dougie, but I hadn't wanted this to happen in the first place. I'd wanted to avoid this; I wanted to stay with Dougie, more than anything I wanted to stay with him!

And I had to prove that somehow, when I got home. I was going to fight this every step of the way, because my parents weren't going to take this away. Dougie was right, our happiness was more important that my parents opinion of us. And when I got out, I'd show him that, I'd show him that I loved and cared about him more than I did about my parents. They were currently _kidnapping me_ to do God knew what to me to get me to be their perfect son again, and I'd had enough. I wasn't scared of this; I wasn't scared of what they were going to do to me. I was going to get through this intact and get back to my lover and my band. Nothing these people could do to me would change my mind.

I was going to fight them, fight to get back to Dougie, and when I did, I was going to prove to him that I cared more for him then I did for my parents and their prejudiced views towards him. If they couldn't accept him, then I wasn't going to see them again, after I got out of here, and if they still didn't see reason, then I was happy to leave them forever. Dougie was more important, Dougie would _always_ be more important. He accepted me, he'd been so kind and caring throughout this thing, I wasn't going to let that be ruined by people who couldn't accept my lover, just because he was from a different background to us.

The car slowed down, coming to a stop on a gravel path. Footsteps approached the car. _I'm not scared, I'm not scared. I refuse to be scared of my own parents._

"Got him for you Sir." The driver informed someone, presumably Dad.

"Thank you, bring him in, we need to get started right away."

I'd never been more scared in my life.


	60. Chapter 60

**indigosky17 - thank you, it means a lot to hear that!**

* * *

59 Dougie's POV

"Harry?! Harry! HARRY!"I called out, louder every single time he didn't answer. Where was he?! He couldn't have gone, please tell me he had just wandered off! His parents didn't have him, _sh*t_ his parent couldn't have taken him!

"I've had everybody search the building, no sign of Harry." Fletch ran up, slightly out of breath.

" _F*ck._ " Tom swore, looking around like he'd see Harry somewhere. But nobody was here! Absolutely nobody! It was just us and the security guards! There wasn't even a trace of Harry!

"He could have still wandered off right? He's surely just wandered off!" Danny joined in spinning round to look.

"But the car has gone! The one that's been following us, it's gone!" I couldn't see it, it had been parked up earlier on and now it was gone, just like Harry! The car hadn't been gone in _weeks!_ It followed us everywhere and now it was gone!

Oh God he had been taken, and I'd been so horrible to him. I'd been so, _so_ horrible, and now he had been taken! I hadn't meant anything I'd said in that argument, I'd been so emotional, and now Harry was gone so I couldn't tell him I was sorry! I had to say sorry to him, but I couldn't say sorry! I needed to say sorry for what I said, I had to say I was sorry, had to make it up to him. But now he was gone and I couldn't tell him _anything_ and I really needed to tell him I was sorry because I loved him so much and I didn't want to lose him I'd only been really upset and I hadn't meant a word I'd set I'd been upset I'd been upset!

"Whoa, whoa Dougie breathe. It's okay, it's okay, we'll get him back. We're going to get him back; we don't even know that he's gone yet!" Tom grabbed me as the world spun, my lungs refusing to inflate with any air. I couldn't breathe, Harry was gone, I couldn't breathe. He was going to be taken from me and I'd never see him again, all because I'd been so horrible. I couldn't... the air... Harry was... His parents... His parents would never let him leave. He'd never be allowed to leave and they'd change him into someone else. I'd never see him again; I'd never see him again!

"Shh, shh Dougie. Come on, let's breathe, and I'll get him on the phone, okay? Let's phone Harry and if he answers, he's safe, if he doesn't... We'll figure that out when we get there." Tom held me upright, doing nothing to calm me.

Only Harry could calm me down, he was the master of it. He knew how to stop the panic attacks, how to get my breath back, he could calm me down. I needed him, I needed him right now! Couldn't live without him, in every single aspect. I needed him, I needed him so bad. I needed him right now, oh God Harry wasn't here, he was taken and I'd been a complete b*stard this was a nightmare I was in a nightmare he had to be here somewhere he had to be!

"Shhh, shhh, Danny's phoning Harry now, he's going to get hold of him and he'll come back." Tom rubbed my back, his arms constricting around my chest.

I couldn't breathe, the world was spinning round so fast, my knees were weak, I couldn't do this!

"I can't. I can't. I-I can't." I couldn't do this, I couldn't hear this, I couldn't have this confirmed! Harry couldn't be gone; he couldn't be taken from me! I needed him, oh God I needed him so much. I loved him, I loved him, he couldn't be gone, oh God he couldn't be gone!

"Wait, what's that sound?" Fletch asked, "Sh*t, it's Harry's phone." He held up Harry's smashed phone, the screen showing that Danny was ringing him.

"Oh God, oh _God._ " Harry was gone, Harry was _gone._ They'd taken him and it was all my fault, they'd taken him and it was all my fault. _F*ck, f*ck, F*CK!_


	61. Chapter 61

60 Harry's POV

"You're insane! What the hell do you think you're doing?!" I shouted, desperately trying to escape the guard's hands holding onto me.

"What we're doing? What the hell were _you_ doing running away like that and disgracing this family?!" Dad shouted back, yanking me through the corridors of our mansion. Guards marked all the doors, more cameras followed our movements. They'd _really_ upped the security... sh*t.

"Disgracing the family?! All I did was fall in love; _you're_ the one who decided that I couldn't live my life like I wanted to!" I got thrown to the floor, barely saving my head from smacking against the wood.

"Living your life as you want it is a disgrace! You're causing this family so much trouble by being with that _boy,_ bringing more attention to yourself by doing something like _coming out_ and ignoring our express orders to come home!" Dad argued, eyes on fire and heaving with rage.

"Only because you're _insane_ for all this! If you thought I was going to stay here like a good boy and bow down to your rules then you've got another thing coming!" How could he even think that I would do that?! I would never stay here and do as Dad said when it included leaving Dougie, the band and changing who I was!

"And why not?! You're my son, you should listen to what I say and follow without question!" Dad glared, was he _serious_ right now?! I was not some automaton! I was a human being, and his son at that!

"Why? Because you're my Dad? That's ridiculous! I shouldn't have to listen to every word you say just because you say so!" I couldn't believe that I was hearing this, Dad didn't have a clue about what he was talking about, if I wanted to be in a band and be in love with my bassist, then I could do it! It wasn't like I was hurting anyone by being in love with Dougie!

"You should listen to me because you're my son and I know more about the world than you do! If I want to stop you from being with that _boy_ then I can!" Dad hissed, chest heaving in anger. He looked slightly terrifying, but I wasn't going to let that get to me, I refused point blank to let this get to me. I was going to fight him and whatever crazy plan he had, I refused to go down without a fight. I was getting back to Dougie; I wasn't going to just give up on him because Dad said so!

"You don't even know that _boy_ as you keep referring to him! You've hated him blindly for years without even meeting him! And when you finally did, you acted like he was scum and didn't give him a chance! If you stopped being so high and mighty for five minutes you would see that he is a lovely boy who makes me incredibly happy! _Dougie_ loves me for me and doesn't care where I'm from, or keeping up appearances! He _loves_ me like you should!" I shouted, _hating_ my dad so much in this moment.

How could he do this to me?! Just because I was in love?! How could he possibly justify all of this, I was a bloody human being, I could make whatever decisions I wanted! Dougie made me happy, my band made me happy, surely that should be what mattered, not what the neighbours thought of me! Mum and Dad had gotten over me being in a band fairly easily, and I'd done almost everything they had ever asked of me, how was _falling in love_ the worst thing I had ever done?!

"How dare you!" Dad stormed forward, I ran back until I hit the bedroom wall, "I love you _plenty!_ I love you so much that I'm doing this so you don't get heartbroken and left feeling like an idiot when that _Dougie_ takes everything you own and leaves you alone!" he was thinking _what_ now?!

"You think Dougie is with me for our money? You _honestly_ think that my boyfriend, who happens to be doing just fine in the money department thanks to our band, is only with me because we're rich? Bl**dy hell how deluded are you?! He _loves_ me; he's not some gold digger!" I couldn't believe what I was hearing again, could Dad not see that Dougie actually loved me?! That I wasn't falling for someone who only cared for my money!

"No he doesn't! All of his kind are the same, you would do best to learn that!" Dad stood over me, an intimidating technique that was getting _nowhere._ I wasn't scared of him, if he thought he was scaring me, he had another thing coming! I'd faced down the entire judging British public and the media these past few weeks, one man wasn't enough to intimidate me!

"His _kind?_ Dougie isn't part of a different race! He's a human being just like you and me!" I argued, standing taller, refusing to be beaten down.

"And humans lie and cheat to get through life!" Dad didn't miss a beat.

"What like you? You've making me lie about who I love just to please you and your friends! You would rather that I _lied_ and was miserable for my entire life than be happy in a _slightly_ unconventional life! Get the hell over it!" a slap hit me hard in the face, knocking me to the floor.

"Don't you _dare_ make it sound like that. I'm looking out for you, and you will _do it_ without complaint. I'm doing this out of love and don't you forget it." Dad hissed, storming out the room and slamming the door. The lock clicking into place slammed home that this was not going to end well.

Looking around, I saw that my bedroom had been redone. The windows had been covered with wooden slats, and when I peeked through them, there were iron bars on the outside. The same had happened in the bathroom; all windows boarded shut and covered in iron bars an inch apart. No way I could escape that way, and now the door was locked. I couldn't pick locks either, so I couldn't open the door without help. Other than those ways, there were no other escape route, and I didn't even have a phone to call for help. No doubt Thomas and Katherine were banned from being alone with me, the guards had probably been doubled, and nobody else was going to help me out.

I had to do this all on my own; I didn't even know if I could rely on the guys getting me out. That argument with Dougie could make him think that I'd willingly run off, and I didn't know if they'd investigate it. Even if they got involved, they wouldn't be allowed in the house to get me out. And my parents were pillars of the community, the police probably wouldn't even think that my parents were behind anything like this; it would take some serious convincing to get them to believe that I was in trouble.

It was going to have to be up to me to get out of here. And I currently had no idea how to do that.


	62. Chapter 62

61 Dougie's POV

"Oh God, it's all my fault, it's all my fault. I, I argued with him a-and pushed him away. I-I pushed him away and n-now he's gone." I cried, I couldn't believe it. Harry was _gone,_ Harry was gone and it was all my fault. If I hadn't, I'd have... Harry would still be here, if I'd not argued with him, he'd still _be_ here and they wouldn't have gotten him.

"No, no Dougie it's not your fault. They... It was kinda inevitable that Harry's parents would get him eventually, even with all our security measures, we would have been separated or something and they'd have gotten him then." Tom sighed, stroking my hair, "But, we know who has him, and where they live, which is a plus point. We can tell the police or whoever exactly where he is, get him back easily. We'll hardly know he's gone."

"We don't know that! We don't know if they've moved house, or taken him somewhere else! And we don't know what they're doing to him! They are capable of anything!" I shouted, we didn't know _anything!_ Harry was _gone_ and we were just sitting around here doing absolutely nothing!

Fletch was phoning management now, but that wasn't doing anything! What could management do? They couldn't exactly find Harry and get him out! They couldn't do anything! We needed the police, or someone like that! Management were useless!

"Which is why we're going to get him out, and quick. He's going to be back soon, I promise. We'll get him back, and you'll be together again." Tom held me close, letting me cry and shake hysterically in his arms. I was so scared, so damn scared; Harry could be anywhere, having anything done to him right now!

His parents could be doing anything to him, they could be beating him, abusing him, starting to make him act like the son they always wanted! They were certainly making him miserable! But _how_ miserable, and what were they doing him? Did he know that we were going to get him back? That we were going to look for him? That I still loved him and would do _anything_ to get him back to me? He had to know that, didn't he? He had to know that we were coming for him, he _had_ to know.

"Right, management are starting damage control, and are going to send someone to Harry's parent's house, to see if they can talk this out first. If that doesn't work, they're going to contact the police and get him back." Fletch cut off the call, running his hands through his hair.

"But talking did nothing last time Fletch! His parents didn't listen to you, how will anybody else get through to them?!" Danny shouted, and he was right, how the hell would that work?! How the hell did management think that _talking_ to Harry's parents would get him back to us?! Especially when Fletch didn't get very far with them the last time he went to talk to them!

"That won't work Fletch! They're not reasonable! We have to get in there and get Harry back now!" I couldn't leave my boyfriend to suffer in that house of hell while people tried to talk things through!

"We have to be diplomatic Dougie; we can't just go barging in, accusing people of kidnapping and things, especially well off people like them. Being diplomatic is key, because if we storm in guns blazing and _don't_ get Harry out, they could move him somewhere and we'll never find him. It's better to just give the talking a try, to work this out like adults. And if that doesn't work, then we'll bring in big guns." Fletch explained, but being diplomatic got nowhere! Harry's parents didn't listen to anybody but themselves! They wouldn't listen to anybody else! How could he think that this was a good idea?!

"That's not good enough! That's not going to get Harry out of there now before it's too late!" How could Fletch do this?! He knew what was at stake! He couldn't be serious about being diplomatic, the time for that was over a long time ago!

"It's not going to be too late Doug, we'll get him out and home safe, I promise! We just... we just need to be careful okay, avoid a scandal." Fletch got cut off.

"A scandal?! You think any of us care about a _scandal!?_ Harry's life could possibly be on the line! We don't know what his parents are going to do to him, you saw those notes, they're not going to be calm in all of this! They could seriously hurt him! Or stop him from ever playing drums again! They could send him away to some boarding school far away where we can't get to him and he can't get out of! We have to get him now!" I couldn't let him finish the sentence, scandals were _nothing_ compared to Harry's life!

"Dougie's right Fletch, we don't care about scandals, we're in a big enough one now as it is. We all saw those letters; his parents aren't exactly going to be nice in all of this. We really should get Harry out as soon as possible." Tom agreed with me, thank _God._ It was the best thing he'd said all week!

"Yeah, before they damage him too much, or hide him where we can't find him." Danny bit on his nails.

"I'm sorry, I can't do anything. And you can't either; we just have to ride this out, alright? We can go in guns blazing later, but let's try the quiet way first, so we can't say we didn't try." Fletch was an _idiot,_ Harry was going to get seriously hurt and it was going to be all his fault at this rate!


	63. Chapter 63

62 Harry's POV

I explored every inch of my old bedroom, trying desperately to find some way out of here, finding absolutely nothing. There was not a single lose floor board, nail in the window, or tumbler in the lock. Everything was sealed so tightly there was no way I was going to get out. It looked like I was stuck here, cr*p.

I sat down heavily on the bed, putting my head in my hands and letting myself feel a few minutes of despair at my situation. I was trapped in my parents' house, unable to get out, unable to run away, and completely alone. Nobody for company but the guard outside the door, who would no doubt ignore me if I tried to talk to him. I had nobody to phone, because it wasn't in my pockets, so had either been left at the studio or taken from me, and no other means of communication. I was totally reliant on Dougie and the guys phoning for help. Or my siblings discovering what was going on and helping me out, though if they got the chance, or even found out, was another matter entirely. Mum and Dad would probably keep this from them so they couldn't come to my rescue, or help me in any way.

Maybe the boys would contact them... No I doubted it, and even if they did, what could my siblings do exactly? Nothing particularly useful, that's for sure.

Sighing, I laid down on the hard bed, feeling exhausted after a long day. Looking around again, I noticed that half of my things were missing. All the CDs I'd left behind were gone, along with my spare drumsticks, and anything else musical. All of it was gone. So were all of my jeans and t-shirts with logos. All that was left were smart trousers and shirts, and respectable silk pajamas. _Really, can't even leave me with normal pajamas!_ My god, my parents were posh.

Though I wasn't sure if that was a bribe or not, 'come to ours side, we have expensive things' because if it was, it was a pathetic attempt. I'd never liked the ridiculously expensive things; I didn't mind wearing cheap underwear from the supermarket, or anything of the sort. I liked that normality, of having things that didn't quite fit, that were slightly too long or too short, things that got frayed from over wear. Looking immaculate all the time was ridiculous, and unbelievably boring too. What was wrong with dressing in older clothes? Or clothes that cost that much? I felt so much more comfortable in cheaper things, like I was a real person, not a doll to be paraded around like a trophy.

If it wasn't a bribe though, then it was an attempt to make me look the part of perfect son, forcing me to dress now they wanted, what they approved for me. I had a terrible feeling that all my decisions were going to be made for me now, that I wasn't going to get a word in edge ways about what I preferred, or what I wanted. I would be regimented to doing exactly what my parents said, looking like they wanted, talking like them, and being the perfect little boy they always wanted, not the rebellious one they had gotten instead.

Well, to hell with that, I'd fight every step of the way, I refused to wear their clothes, talk like them, do what they wanted, I'd do what I liked, in my own way, they couldn't stop me! If they did, I'd... I'd... I'd do something! And I'd show them just what they'd brought into this house, a storm who wouldn't stop, a son who never wanted to follow their orders again, who would never stop fighting for what he wanted, and what he wanted was freedom from this prison they had put me in. I'd fight, all the way, even if they hurt me, threatened me, I'd get out.

Resolved, I somehow managed to fall asleep, curled up on my old bed, not resting well. My thoughts and dreams still swirled around what was going to happen to me here, what my parents had planned. Last time there had been talk of another school, but I didn't know if they would make good on that promise. Or would their priority be finding me someone acceptable to date? Would they force another relationship on me? Or would they wait until I was under their thumb for that? I didn't want to leave Dougie though, and I'd certainly never forget about him. He was at the forefront of my mind, how could I forget my boy? But what would my parents do to him if I didn't fall in line? God they could really hurt him... I dreaded to think what they'd think up for him...

"HARRY GET UP NOW!" The shout broke me from my worried dreams with a scare. The door unlocked and a guard came in, looking vaguely threatening.

"You are to shower and dress before you make your way to the dining hall." He spoke before I could.

"Oh really, what are you going to do if I don't?" I raised an eyebrow, challenging him, making sure my stance in all of this was known from the beginning.

"I will force you." He growled simply.

"Ohhhh, how scary, I'm trembling with fear." I replied sarcastically, crossing my arms.

"Just get in the shower and dress; it will make this easier on you." The guard ordered, looking like he was preparing for a fight, he thought right in that.

"No." I answered, "I refuse, come and force me. I won't be going anywhere unless you do."

"Don't think I won't." The guard stepped forward.

"Is that supposed to be threatening? Because you're not doing a very good job if it is." _Come on, come and get me. I dare you, prove how scary you are._

The guard charged forward, I dodged him, running circles around him until he managed to grab me, just inches from the open door. Kicking and screaming, he dragged me to the shower, shoving me inside and locking the door behind him, trapping me again in a room with no chance of escape.


	64. Chapter 64

63 Tom's POV

Days passed, and there was no word from Harry, or his parents. I was half hoping he would somehow escape and come home within a few days, having escaped before. But it was a stupid hope, obviously security around had been upped and he probably couldn't breathe for all that his parents were forcing on him. The poor guy didn't stand a chance. Still though, I hoped and prayed for him to return unharmed, and soon.

I was so worried about him, scared over his parents were doing to him. We didn't know what his parents were doing to him, for all we knew; they were beating him into submission! And Harry was so painfully stubborn; I doubted that he'd back down, no matter what they did to him. Even if he backed down to stop the pain, he would still find ways to rebellious, and would constantly get himself into trouble, making sure _everyone_ knew just how he hated what was happening to him.

I dreaded the state he'd come home in. Hopefully he wasn't being physically hurt... though mentally wouldn't do him any good either. Physical it was easy to heal from; mental... mental hurt was harder to recover from. I should know, I was still haunted from the taunts I'd gotten from the press about my weight in the past. Nearly gave Danny a heart attack when he realised I was starving myself to lose weight. And that was just from the press, from someone I _loved?_ That would be worse surely.

I mean, Danny didn't seem to be _that_ affected by his past, years after he'd made up with his parents, but there were still some nights I had to hold him extra tight to reassure him that everything was okay, that I had to remind him that his parents still loved him. With Harry, this situation was so much worse; they were rejecting who he was, and trying to force him to be someone different. That must _hurt_ so much...

"Tom?" I jumped as I heard my name being said by a tiny voice.

"Dougie?" I turned over in bed to see our bassist, clutching Harry's Eeyore toy to his chest, eyes red with tears.

"Can... Can I stay with you? I... I miss Harry." Dougie's voice wobbled painfully, sending stabs of guilt through my chest.

"Of course, come on, get in." I lifted the covers, hearing Danny give a half asleep whine at the sudden cold air.

Dougie dived under the covers, bundling himself into my arms, whole body shaking, tears wetting my t-shirt.

"Whozzit?" Danny mumbled on my other side, arm searching until it found Dougie's hip, "Doug?"

"Yeah, he... he misses Harry." I whispered, stroking our baby's hair, hating that he was crying and so _scared._ I couldn't do anything to stop his pain, or give him what wanted. All I could say was we had to wait for management to talk to Harry's parents this weekend, and hope for the best, even though I knew it was a pointless exercise. There was no way management were coming back with Harry in tow, I doubted that they'd even get to see him, so they wouldn't even be able to tell us if he was in the house and unhurt.

"W-What are we going to do get him? We can't... We can't get him ourselves." Dougie shivered, squashing the blue toy between us as he shuffled closer.

"Shhh Doug, he'll back soon. We'll storm the castle and get him." Danny mumbled, clearly still half asleep, if not tipping back into full sleep again.

"With what exactly?" I asked, wondering if I could get him to say something stupid, lighten the mood a little. We had all been so _tense_ recently; we needed a way to let down our hair, even if it was half asleep mumbling. If it worked, I wouldn't even feel bad for manipulating Danny, even in this very small way.

"Swords." Danny grumbled into my shoulder, "Ride in on... ride in on a, a dragon. It'll... breathe fire or something." He was slurring his words, literally _seconds_ from dropping into sleep.

"Hear that Doug? We'll rescue Harry on a dragon apparently." I playfully tickled our bassist's ribs, getting a _tiny_ giggle in response. And if that wasn't the best thing I'd heard in _days_ I didn't know what was.

"Stop it, this is serious Tom." Dougie pushed my hands away, back to that pained, worried look again. Who in their right minds would want to make a nineteen year old look like this? He was a _child,_ a boy in love, who would want to try and shatter that in the name of a _reputation?_ Some people were too cruel for words.

"I know it is, but it's really late. How about if we just try to sleep now and talk some more in the morning? We'll all be more awake then." I brushed his fringe from his face gently.

"O-Okay... Do you think Harry's asleep?" Dougie asked, sounding so _innocent_ it hurt to know that he was so worried.

"I think so. It's late; I doubt anybody will be up to much at this hour. Now you should join him, he'll murder me if he comes home to see you exhausted." I gave him a smile and kissed his forehead, rubbing his back gently until he fell asleep, hoping that my words were right.


	65. Chapter 65

64 Harry's POV

"You know Harry, things would be a lot easier if you accepted this and followed our orders." Mum sighed as I was shoved into a chair, clean, dried, and dressed in a smart shirt and trousers, like a _perfect_ son. It was absolutely horrible, like my personality was being taken away with every step my parents took to stop me expressing myself as a person.

"It would be a lot easier if you didn't _kidnap me_ and force me into this against my will." I hissed at her, stabbing at my healthy boiled eggs, conveying just how angry I still was over this. I hadn't calmed down all week, and I wasn't about to either. I was being held prisoner, I wasn't going to calm down any time soon! If anybody thought I would do they were sorely mistaken.

"We aren't kidnapping you; we are simply setting things right so you can have a good life. In a few years, you will be thanking us." Mum replied simply, without even twitching.

"Thank you? _Really?_ You think that I'll be thanking you for taking me from my home, my friends, my boyfr-" I started arguing.

"Don't. Just don't say that Harry, he wasn't... he wasn't _that._ " Mum's facade fell for a minute, showing me... was that _disgust?_ She was _disgusted_ by Dougie. By the idea of me being with him. What the hell was her problem?!

"What? He wasn't my _boyfriend,_ because I think you'll find that he was and still is." I glared; I was going to use the word 'boyfriend' as much as possible now, just to wind her up. See how she liked it when she wasn't listened to and her feelings ignored.

"No, he isn't. He was a mistake Harry, a terrible, terrible mistake. One that would only lead to heartbreak in the end when he proves to be just like every other delinquent out there. All we're doing is putting you back on the right path, so you don't have to go through that." Mum explained, she genuinely believed that. She actually, _genuinely_ believed that Dougie was out to hurt me, to steal the family money and leave me. I couldn't tell what was more hurtful, the idea that I couldn't tell bad people from the good, or that she thought that Dougie was nothing more than a gold digger.

"What the hell gave you the idea that he's like that, that he's a _delinquent?_ You spoke to him for _five minutes,_ how could you possibly tell anything from that? He's a _lovely_ human being, who _loves_ and _cares_ for me. He has no need to go gold digging as it is, we're in a successful band, we have all the money we could wish for. Dougie doesn't have a bad bone in his body, why can't you see that?" I couldn't understand how either of my parents couldn't see that Dougie was a beautiful human being, inside and out. I couldn't understand why they didn't trust my judgement and leave me alone on this? I was just... I just didn't know how they could possibly think these things, and go to these lengths to separate us.

The door bell rang before Mum could reply, the butler soon bringing in... Wait what the hell were _management_ here for? I didn't know their specific names, but they were definitely from the label, I recognised them from the countless times we had had meetings in the building. Were they were to stage a rescue? Please tell me they were, I couldn't see any other reason why they would be here.

"Hey, come to rescue me from the hell hole?" I smiled brightly at the women; they were the best sight I'd seen in _days._

"Wait, who are these women Harry? How do you know them?" Mum questioned, giving us all a suspicious look.

"Mrs Judd, we are from Universal, Harry's record label. We have come here to negotiate Harry's release from your care." The first woman spoke, ah, _lawyer,_ I could tell by the careful wording. I resisted making a wise crack about the _care_ I was under, figuring it would make the situation worse. These people were the ones who could get me out of here quietly and _right now,_ it was best to play the situation to our advantage, keep Mum in a good mood.

"Negotiate Harry's _release?_ I don't think so." Mum crossed her arms... this wasn't going to be an easy conversation, that was her battle look.

"You see Mrs Judd, Harry did sign a contract with us, along with the rest of the band. He hasn't fulfilled it, so he needs to come back with us." The lawyer explained calmly, _yes, use legal terms against her. Can't get too far outside the law here, my parents were already breaking it with this kidnapping business._

"So you can take him back to those terrible boys so they corrupt him further? I don't think so! Harry is not going back to see them, not now, not _ever!_ I won't allow him to." Mum answered, a scandalised look on her face at just the _prospect_ of me going anywhere near the band house again.

"That isn't quite up to you I'm afraid. It's Harry's contract, and he's legally an adult, he's the one to make these decisions." The lawyer was being careful, very, _very_ careful.

"The contract in question was signed when Harry was a _minor,_ and my husband and I oversaw it. So I think you'll find that we also get a say in what happens to him in this band." Well bugger.

"Harry is still a legal adult now; the power went to him once he turned eighteen." I wasn't even sure if that was true, if it was, _score!_

"I don't care. My son is not going anywhere near those boys ever again! They are going to lead him astray and break his heart, and I won't have that for him! He is staying here and that is final!" Mum put up a good fight against the lawyer.

And eventually, Mum won. How I have no idea, but she _won_ against a _lawyer._ How I have no idea, but she actually made the lawyer back down. I couldn't believe it, how was she doing this?! And why wasn't I allowed to get a word in edgeways here? Nobody was asking me what I wanted, which was to get away from this hell hole and back home where I belonged, couldn't these people just take me away from here and escape?! If this bl**dy guard wasn't here I would have made a run for it to their car as they left, but he stood next to me, holding onto my arm in a vice like grip so I couldn't move.

Two hours after their arrival, the lawyers left empty handed, leaving me to watch the car pull away from the drive, my hopes of being allowed to leave quietly shattering.


	66. Chapter 66

65 Dougie's POV

"What do you mean you couldn't argue Harry out of this?!" I shouted when the lawyers explained what had happened in Harry's parent's house. They had done _nothing_ to help, only wind up his mum and give her and his dad more reason to mistrust us! For God's sake these people were _lawyers,_ didn't they argue stuff like this for a living?! How hard could it be to argue against one woman?!

"I'm really sorry, but she just would not budge an inch. She was an unmoveable object in all of this; I've never seen a mother so headstrong in all my years in this job." The lawyer apologised, but I couldn't have this. I had known that this was a bad idea, that it wouldn't do anything! Talking with Harry's parents did nothing at all; they were so damn stubborn there was no point in even trying to talk to them because they simply would not listen!

"So now what are we going to do?! Harry's _stuck_ in that hell hole by himself with no means of escape or communication with the outside world! We have to get him out!" We had to get him out, leaving him there was cruel! He needed to get out, but how? We had no means of getting him out! There was... There was nothing!

"Please say that there was a hole in their security system or something." Tom ran his hands through his hair, sending it into odd tufts he didn't bother to flatten.

"Not that we could see. But didn't see much of anything if I'm honest. There are guards outside, guarding the gate and what looks like the grounds too, Harry has another on him at all times, including holding onto him as we left so he couldn't escape. So sneaking him out, or sneaking yourselves in, will not get you very far." The lawyer explained, at least continuing to look apologetic.

"He did look okay in himself though, didn't he?" I asked again, having asked earlier, but needing to make sure. I wanted to be completely sure that he was okay. He _had_ to be okay. He was my Harry. I needed him more than anything, and that including him being _safe._ And if he couldn't be safe right now, at least he could be physically unharmed.

"Harry in himself looked fine. He was being sarcastic as always when he could get a word in; there weren't any bruises from what I could see, or any physical marks. All in all, he just looked a bit like you had had a long week of promotion." The lawyer answered, not seeming bothered that I was asking the question for a second time.

"Good... What about what he looked like? Was he wearing his own clothes or what?" I asked, wondering if he had had his things taken from him again.

"No, it looked like he was wearing fancier clothes. Basically the same as he described when he came back last time." she explained, _damn it._ How could his parents have taken his _clothes_ from him on top of everything else? They were his _clothes,_ what harm could they do?

"What even is the point of that?" Danny asked, "Seriously, why take his clothes and force him into others? That doesn't make sense to me."

"My guess would be to take away his identity, so he's not being allowed to express himself like he usually would through his own clothes." Fletch answered.

"And probably to take away another chance at autonomy." The lawyer finished for him... That sounded horrible! His parents were taking everything from him, his band, his friends, and now his choices in what to wear too! This was going too far!

"Jesus, where is their need for control going to stop? Are they going to control everything he does from now on? Is he going to have _anything_ to himself?" I doubted that he would, or if he was allowed anything now. It didn't seem likely judging by what I was hearing.

"I doubt it currently. But if you look on the brighter side, he's fighting this every step, which is good. And he's being fed and not physically harmed, all of which are good things." Fletch tried to lighten the mood, it didn't work.

"Fighting could _get_ him hurt if he pushes too far, which you know Harry can do. And if he was, we could use what they saw while they were in the house when we talked to the police. Currently we just have a broken phone and some letters." Which in all honestly, probably wouldn't get us that far. We needed stone cold, hard evidence. Some letters could probably get the police through the front door, but if Harry's parents could beat _lawyers,_ I somehow doubted that the police would get Harry out first try.

And that was if they hadn't moved him already to somewhere else, figuring that it was dangerous to keep him at the mansion when people were turning up to bring him home. Who knew if his parents owned other houses and places to keep Harry out of the way? They could have hundreds with the amount of money they had between them! Also, who knew what kind of things they were doing to him behind closed doors, where nobody could see? There was so much they could be doing, and currently we couldn't prove anything, or get into the house ourselves.

What the hell were we going to do?!


	67. Chapter 67

66 Harry's POV

Somehow, security got _upped_ after the visit from the lawyers, after Mum had gone _ballistic_ at the idea of someone trying to take me away 'wreck me further' and 'put me back into the hands of that _boy.'_ It didn't stop me _trying_ to escape though; I tried everything at every available opportunity. I tried getting windows open; taking down the wooden slats on the windows in my room, checking for unlocked doors, loose floorboards, anything like that.

But everything was sealed tightly shut. And I wasn't allowed outside. Apparently I was 'too likely to run off' if I got outside, how I was meant to do that with so many guards and such a high wall surrounding the gardens I didn't know. Even that was assuming I got outside without a guard by _my_ side all the time too. Currently I was followed at all times by a guard, keeping a close eye on me, making sure I couldn't 'get up to anything.' Sometimes I managed to get away for a few minutes, but the freedom never lasted long, barely ten minutes at a time. It was just enough to test a potential fault in the security, and sometimes get a story together to explain why I was in whatever room I was in. Because I sure as hell wasn't about to say 'oh yeah I'm testing for faults so I can escape' as that would call for any potential faults to be found and get taken care of.

That was the only thing in my behaviour that I lied about, everything else I made perfectly clear. I made sure _everybody_ in the house knew of my displeasure about being here, about how unfair I thought all of this was. Nobody paid attention to that, but at least it made me feel better, knowing I was being the biggest pain in the neck I could possibly be.

I almost turned it into a game really, seeing how far I could go until I made someone snap. Generally the one snapping was Dad, and while it was slightly scary to see him exploding with anger, it was still reasonably fun at the same time. Mostly it was to make him regret ever bringing me here, forcing me into this absolute mess. If he was going to try and force me into this, then damn it I was going to make sure his life was a living hell too. As much as possible.

But at night, when the whole house was quiet, the doors were locked and guards were on the outside, leaving me alone in my room, I let the bravado drop. It was easy to pretend to just be angry and defiant in the face of it all when I was around Mum and Dad, but alone, I let myself feel all the hurt and pain. I let myself miss the band, miss my friends, miss being able to do what I wanted. Most of all, I missed Dougie, I missed him more than anything else in the world. He was everything, and I couldn't get used to not being with him. I'd spent most of the past three years with him by my side almost constantly. We slept, ate, hung out and played together all the time. Now I was alone, only able to talk to my _parents_ every day, not being touched at all unless I was being hauled off somewhere.

Lying alone in my overly large bed, dressed in silk pyjamas that felt _wrong_ to wear, I felt lonelier than ever. I wanted to curl up around Dougie, bury my face in his hair and hold him close, feel his heart beat against my hand, listen to him breathe. I wanted to hear him talk to me until I fell asleep, to wake up with his head on my chest. I wanted _him_ back so much. I missed Tom and Danny and the band and everything else, but the person I wanted most was Dougie. There weren't words to describe how much I missed him, how much I wanted him back. All this happened because of an argument, because I had stupidly said the complete wrong thing in an interview. We should have just come out together, we should have just _ran_ like Fletch suggested.

Every night, I allowed myself to curl up on the bed, holding a pillow to my chest in a terrible imitation of Dougie, and cried myself to sleep. I didn't care if there were cameras in the room, and if my parents were watching, I didn't care if they thought I was being ridiculous. Because I wasn't, I _missed_ my home, I missed my friends, and more importantly, I missed my boyfriend. If they couldn't see what they were doing to me then they were blind, this was hell, this was abuse.

All I wanted was to be allowed to be with my boyfriend, living the life I chose. Why couldn't I do that? Why did nobody understand that that was what I wanted? I wasn't being harmed, or in any danger. I was happy. Couldn't that be enough for my parents?


	68. Chapter 68

67 Dougie's POV

Despite Harry's disappearance, we had to continue going out as a band. Fletch managed to cancel most of our interviews and photo shoots, because being the current press favourite missing didn't look all too good, but we still ended up going out to premiers and award shows. Why I didn't know, all I really wanted to do was curl in a ball and disappear, but we had to carry on, even without Harry. We lied and said he had overtaxed himself recently and was resting at home to explain his absence, but it felt so wrong to say that. Knowing that he was doing anything but resting currently.

He was probably in pain, cut off from the world, being forced into being a perfect son by his parents who didn't understand a thing. I _hated_ them so much, hated their stupid, outdated ideas, their hatred of me and this band, and their stubborn nature. All Harry did was dare to be happy, that should not have been punished like this. It should have never been punished in the first place. The only thing it had accomplished was scaring us all, and forced us into lying horrendously.

"So guys, now that Harry isn't here, can you dish anything on him and his mysterious boyfriend?" Was this red carpet interviewer serious right now? Couldn't they ask something else? Literally _anything_ else? We weren't even in this film, why were we even talking to them?

"Nope, we're sworn to secrecy, Harry would have our heads if we said a word." Tom tried laughing it off, subtly pulling me closer to him.

"Aw, can't you say anything at all? Can't even say if they're on a secret holiday together like the rumours are saying?" The interviewer grinned in an attempt to look innocent. It looked anything but.

"We're neither confirming nor denying that. All we're saying is that Harry's having some well deserving rest, the past couple of weeks have been hard on him." Tom answered, somehow managing to come across incredibly cool and calm. How he managed that I didn't know, even at times like this, Tom always managed to come across like he was in control, even when he was anything but.

"Oh I can imagine. Coming out is such a huge thing, and the press has been swarming the entire time, trying to figure out who his lover is." The interviewer nodded like she understood and wasn't one of the ones pressing for more information.

"Yeah, it's been a tough couple of weeks, though I think we've gotten through reasonably well. Harry at the least has deserved a break." Tom smiled sweetly.

"That he has, any idea when he'll be back with you?" No, we didn't have a damn clue because his a*shole parents weren't letting go of their precious son and were determined to break him into tiny pieces and rebuild him into their perfect son.

"Not currently. We've got some meetings coming up to decide what we're doing next, then we're going to basically go underground for a bit, get some writing and recording done. He'll be back for that, but publically we're not sure, we don't have any gigs planned or anything currently, so it's anyone's guess." Tom shrugged, good cover. We weren't doing any writing or recording until Harry was back. It felt wrong to even try and be a band without him, and I refused point blank to even try to do anything without him. He had to be with us, or we weren't a band. We were just three guys, incomplete and useless without our drummer.

"Well we'll all look forward to seeing that very soon I'm sure! Have a nice night boys." The interviewer thankfully let us go, so we could move further down the line. We had to go through several more interviews, but eventually got inside the cinema where it was safe.

All of us breathed a collective sigh of relief as we did, sitting in our seats in the dark, safe from being bothered by anybody. No more questions for the day about anything to do with Harry, or what we were doing next, or anything like that. We were safe from it all. We could relax for a bit. Sort of. I mean, we didn't have to answer anything, but Harry still wasn't here. There still wasn't a plan set in place to get him back either. The lawyer tactic hadn't worked out, so now we were down to asking the police, who would probably prove to be useless too. Fletch was gathering evidence for us now, but what if it wasn't enough? What if the police didn't care? Or didn't think it was serious? Or were convinced that it was all consensual on Harry's part?

I dreaded to think what would happen if that happened. I needed the police to get Harry back, needed him home safe and very soon. He was alone out there; having God knows what done to him. If the police came and didn't get him out, I didn't know what would. That would probably make his parents panic and that would be it, we would probably never find him again. And that was if he hadn't been moved already.

"Dougie, relax a little. It's okay, we're safe in the cinema now. You can relax now." Danny encouraged, wrapping his arm around me.

"Yeah, just sit back and watch the film. Fletch is working on evidence gathering, we can't do anything to help, so try to relax a little okay?" Tom squeezed my hand in the dark, as Danny gently pushed my head to lean on his shoulder. It wasn't the same as leaning on Harry, but I appreciated the effort to comfort me. I still didn't relax, or feel right, but it was better than nothing I guessed. I had to put my faith in Fletch and the police for now. If it didn't work, then it was time to _panic,_ for now, all I could do was hope that this would work and get Harry back.


	69. Chapter 69

68 Harry's POV

"I've got to get back to the band; the press will have a field day wondering where I am!" I tried arguing, figuring that maybe I could come up with a possible good excuse to get out of here. If it didn't, well it was worth a shot. And counted as annoying Mum and Dad... maybe I could wind them up enough to let me go...

"The press aren't your problem now Harry." Mum answered, damn it.

"That may be but they are Dougie, Danny and Tom's problem, they'll need help with the excuses!" I tried again, _come on, take the bait._

"No Harry, they can figure things out by themselves. If not that conniving manager of theirs will be able to." Mum was using a tone that just dared me to answer back. Well, dare I would, I didn't back down to challenges like this.

"That's not fair Mum. There should be some sort of announcement or something and I should be a part of it." God if they forced me to try and say I was quitting the band I would go _mental..._ oh no, I could use that to my advantage. Shout out what was going on here; use it as an excuse to run away, they couldn't have me held down by guards in public, _think of the neighbours_ and all that.

"No you shouldn't. You aren't a part of that band anymore, and if they want to make an announcement then let them. But you won't be a part of it, you will never be a part of it again." Mum was _not_ listening, sh*t.

"Oh come on! You can't expect me to be a part of a band for four years and then leave without a word! I need to be a part of the press conference!" I was desperate here, they had to listen. They had to let me go and sort out the press at the _least,_ I needed out of here!

"I don't care Harry. You are _not_ leaving this house to go and talk to the press, and that is final. That band and public life is not in your job description anymore, and you will not be going near that world ever again." Mum put her foot down, just as Dad came into the room.

"What are you arguing about now?!" Dad growled, he always suspecting that I was arguing. He was usually right actually.

"Harry wants to go out and talk to the press, to stop them circling around his ex-band mates." Mum explained, I hated her for the use of 'ex' in that sentence.

"Does he really? Well they have already sorted that out, they're saying you're exhausted after your coming out stunt and you're on holiday with your _boyfriend._ " Dad threw down a newspaper, the article open on the page. Damn it was he actually going through all the papers for any mention of McFly?

"Well they can't keep that up forever!" I argued, the boys couldn't say I was on holiday forever!

"That's their problem. They can't avoid saying that you've left forever. Eventually they'll simply have to make the announcement that you've left the band." Dad shrugged, like that wasn't the _worst_ thing to happen.

"You wouldn't even let me go out to say that I'm leaving the band?" Seriously?!

"No. You are not leaving this house to see that band ever again, you aren't going to see those boys, or talk to the public about these things." Dad hissed, eyes blazing again.

"You can't stop me from ever going out ever again!" I would go _insane_ staying inside this house for the rest of my life!

"Why can't we? You're our son; we can do what we like with you!" Dad argued.

"No you can't! Just because you made me doesn't mean that you can do whatever you like with me! I'm a human being for God's sake!" I couldn't believe this! They couldn't just _keep me_ here like some _slave_ forever!

"You're an insolent boy that's what you are! I don't care if you're royalty, until you behave you won't be leaving this house!" Dad put his foot down.

"So you're just going to keep me here like some sort of slave forever?! You can't be serious! What kind of parent does that to their _child?_ To anybody?! You're insane!" a slap hit me in the cheek, unbalancing me from where I stood.

"Do not speak to me like that. We are not insane; we are doing what is best for you. Once you see that, you will get through this a whole lot easier." Dad growled in my face.

"I don't care! I will _never_ listen to you! I will never, ever do as you say! If you think I will you're even more insane than I thought you were!" I shouted, not caring if Dad hit me again. He could break my bones and I would still get out of here. No-one was not going make me stay here forever. I would get out of here, no matter what the cost. I couldn't rely on my band mates, my parents were too powerful around here, I had to get through this myself, somehow.


	70. Chapter 70

**fun fact - I finished writing this entire fic yesterday!**

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69 Dougie's POV

The film was good from what I could tell, if I'm honest, I wasn't paying much attention at all. I was completely focused on worrying over getting Harry out and if the police were going to be the ones who managed it. I was hoping that they would be, but somehow I doubted that it would be them. The police were good, but I had this terrible gut feeling that Harry's parents were more powerful and a lot more connected than the police were. If they wanted to cover something up, or hide their son from detection, I had no doubt that they would manage it.

Getting home, we found Fletch still compiling evidence. He'd piled up on the notes from Harry's parents, as well as saved all of the texts Harry had gotten too. All of it was going to be serving as evidence that something very was wrong and that Harry had been taken, and hopefully the police would listen. I mean, there was a lot of evidence here, right? We were given them threatening notes and text messages from his _parents,_ and the evidence that he wasn't here right now either.

Surely that would be enough, right? That had to be enough for them... but what if it wasn't? Would they investigate anyway? Somehow I doubted that they would find much evidence at Harry's parent's house, so if our evidence wasn't enough, I wasn't sure what we would do.

"Do you think they can properly investigate based on just this stuff?" I asked, wrapping my arms around myself for comfort. _Please say yes, please say yes._ I needed Harry home, I needed this to work. Surely this would be enough; it was threats and a kidnapping, that _had_ to be enough!

"That's what I'm hoping. Usually the police investigate when people get threatening letters, so if we can point them in the right direction of where he is and why this is happening, they could get there and get Harry out quickly." Fletch answered, chewing on his lip in thought for a moment, "But there still is the chance that they won't get him back, because he's been moved, or there's not enough evidence to get a full blown investigation."

"We're giving them a tonne of threats and a missing person, what more could they want?!" Tom sounded as confused as I felt.

"I don't know, I'm not all that good on law if I'm honest. I know enough about copyright and things like that, but on kidnapping and that stuff, I'm afraid I don't have a clue. But this should give _some_ sort of help I think, because we are talking about kidnapping." Fletch explained, "And to be honest, we have waited long enough to get this done anyway. I'm going to take this to the station now."

"Alright, we'll come with you." I started helping him put everything in a bag, because I wasn't about to let him go by himself. If this was our chance to get Harry home, I was going to be a part of it. I wasn't going to leave Fletch to do everything, I wanted to help Harry, this was me helping.

"May look a bit suspicious." Fletch answered, hoisting the bag onto his back.

"I don't care. The papers and everyone can think whatever they like. I'm not going to sit here and wait for Harry to make it out of there himself. I'm going to help get him out, even if that just means going to the police station with you." I had caused this by having that argument with Harry in the first place. If I hadn't had argued with him, sent him running off like that, then he would still be here, safe and sound. I wasn't about to just sit here and let him rot in that hell hole without at least trying to get him to safety.

"Alright, but Tom, Danny, you're staying here. We can't all go, you're in the public eye more than ever, we need to keep this on the down low as much as possible." Fletch handed me a hoodie, "Put that on, keep the hood up."

"No offense Fletch, but right now we really don't care about our reputation or what the papers say about this. We just want Harry home, by any means necessary." Danny answered, looking deadly serious in the matter.

"I know, but I'd rather keep you safe from the press as much as possible. They'll eat you alive for this more than they have been already. I'd like to keep you at least without controversy, and I think Harry would like that too." Fletch sighed, "Now come on, we need to get moving. The sooner we give this to the police, the quicker than can get Harry out."


	71. Chapter 71

**I'd love to hear what you guys think of this! If you don't have an account on here, you can always tweet me corruptedpov, or drop me a message on tumblr, where I'm called effulgentcorruptedpov. I've got anon enabled too, so you can't need an account to send me something!**

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70 Harry's POV

I couldn't be kept in this house the rest of time, I'd go absolutely insane! I was already going stir crazy, I couldn't stay forever! Mum and Dad had to let me go at some point, at least to just walk around the gardens; they couldn't me inside out of paranoia for the rest of time! They couldn't do that to me, they couldn't do... Oh who was I kidding? They were already holding me here hostage, Dad had started _hitting_ me when I got too mouthy, what was to stop them from keeping me inside for the rest of my life?

This was insane, absolutely completely and utterly insane. Who did this to their children? Who thought that this was a good idea? Did they not have any other options? Weren't they seeing what this was doing to me? If they did, did they care? I didn't understand how they could do this to me; I was their youngest son, why didn't they love me enough to let me be happy on my own terms? They let me into the band, even if that had to be discussed in great detail and begged for; they had still let me in. Why couldn't they also let me be in love with my bassist? What was so wrong with that?

"You will understand eventually Harry, when you're back on track, doing something more respectful and with someone you can trust. You may not be thanking us now, but you will be in the future." Mum reassured me after Dad had stormed out, not before he had given me another back handed slap around the face.

"I somehow highly doubt that." I grumbled, leaning back on the chair, my feet on the seat.

"Feet down Harry, and you will eventually. We are giving you a stable life, one with less stress, and less chance of heart break. That band was doing you no good; all we are doing is setting that right." Mum pushed my feet to the floor gently.

"What are you now, the good cop? Did you plan this with Dad; get him to be all angry and scary while you play the nice one, to get me to comply?" I glared at her, not enjoying her good cop routine. I would much rather being shunned for my so called mistakes by both parents.

"Of course not, your father... He's just unsure on how to treat you right now. You're so different; it's hard to deal with." Mum sighed, I rolled her eyes.

" _Sure_ I'm different. You've taken me from everything that made me happy and have decided that I'm going to be the perfect son you always wanted, just so you don't ruin that precious reputation of yours." I hissed at her, seething with anger. I had had enough of her bullsh*t about 'doing what was best for me' because this wasn't the best. This was _torture,_ taking me away from every single thing that made me happy, taking away my autonomy and leaving me to deal with this miserable existence - I wasn't even allowed outside the house for God's sake!

"This has nothing to with reputation Harry, we are doing what is best for _you,_ that band will not make you happy. It will lead to heartbreak and betrayal by that boy you associated with. What you need is a trusted person from a similar background to yours who you can trust, who won't leave you or take our money. I can promise you that in a few months, your band mates will have found a new drummer and that bassist will have found someone else to sponge off of. It's best that you forget all about them now, it will be easier on you in the long run." Mum remained stoic as she got up and started to leave the room.

"Easier on me, or you? I would rather you kicked me out of this family than do this. At least I would have been with people who loved me." I ignored what she said about replacing me, because I knew for a fact that that would never happen. We had all promised each other that we would _never_ replace a band member for any reason; they wouldn't go back on that promise.

"We do love you Harry, we are just doing what is best for you." Mum answered, and left the room.


	72. Chapter 72

71 Dougie's POV

I let Fletch do all the talking at the station, figuring he was better at it than I was. He had a way with words and was good at persuading people to do things; I would have ended up just trying and begging this officer to pay attention to me and to help. Instead, I stood there and watched what was happening, _praying_ that the officer took us seriously and investigated what was going on.

"So you're saying that your band mate has been receiving these letters from his parents, after escaping from being _kidnapped_ by them a few months before, and has now been taken again?" The officer asked, look sceptical.

"Yes, and now he's being held against his will by his parents in their manor house in the country." Fletch nodded, _please believe us, please, please believe us._

"Right, and _why_ exactly would they be doing that?" The officer still didn't look like he believed us, he _had_ to though, this was an emergency! This was life or death right now, quite possibly in a literal sense too!

"Because they're almost landed gentry and they don't like the idea of their son being in a relationship with Dougie here. They're incredibly prejudiced against him and the rest of the band and don't like their son hanging around with them, all because they're not of the same social status. So they've taken Harry to turn him into the perfect son they've always wanted." Fletch explained, he had to believe that! This officer had to believe that! Was it that difficult to believe?!

"Okay, you're telling me that two parents have kidnapped their son to stop him being in a relationship, is that correct?" The officer did not look impressed at all, _sh*t._

"Yes, they don't like me and so they took Harry away from me and aren't going to let him out ever again!" I needed this man to understand, needed him to investigate and bring Harry home! Couldn't he just listen and investigate, see for himself what was going on and bring my boyfriend back?! That was all I was asking for!

"Dougie, calm down. It's okay." Fletch put his hand on my arm, rubbing his thumb over my wrist in an attempt to comfort me.

"Why exactly did they kidnap him in the first place? Surely if they had taken one look at the rest of your band mates they wouldn't have approved in the first place and kept him in school." The officer asked, _really,_ that was his question?! Couldn't he see the proof in the damn notes and the texts?!

"We managed to persuade them to let him into the band. I was residing over the boys as a legal guardian, along with another band called Busted at the same time. Busted had a member who was a family friend, and at the time we managed to use him as a means of persuading Harry's parents to let him into the band. That and he was only a few months shy of eighteen, and was stubborn enough to run to us the minute he was a legal adult." Fletch answered, I'd nearly forgotten that we had used Charlie Simpson in the past to persuade Harry's parents to let him join the band. Could that work in our favour now? No, Charlie had left Busted a long time ago now, there's no way that excuse would work.

"So what's stopping him getting out now?" the officer questioned, could he just agree to investigate already damn it?! What was so hard to understand about this?! My boyfriend had been kidnapped and was being kept against his will because his parents hated his life choices, despite the fact that he wasn't hurting himself in any way! He needed saving right this instant!

"There's a tonne of security around the house. Guards everywhere, gates surrounding the grounds, security cameras covering every inch on ground. Hell, there are now even bars on some of the windows." There was what?!

"You didn't tell me that!?" how couldn't Fletch tell me that?! That was something I needed to know!

"I'm sorry, our lawyers told me that after they went over there, they didn't tell you because they were scared about how you would react." Fletch apologised, squeezing my arm again.

"They... They've locked him in." He couldn't go anyway; God Harry was in a _prison._ His own childhood home was a prison to him now, all because of his parents and their refusal to accept me. Oh God he was in this and it was my fault. I shouldn't have argued with him, shouldn't have insisted on going to that damn party in the first place! We should have stayed away from the party; we should have just stayed away!

"Okay, you've convinced me to look into this. No promises of outcome though, these people sound serious, and if we can't find any evidence against them, we can't do anything." The officer sighed; oh thank God he was looking into this!

"You'll find tonnes of evidence there, seriously! Just go to the house and you'll see!" I knew that the police would have to do something when they saw the barred windows and everything else! They had to!

"I'm not going to the house first, I'm going to check all these notes and things first. Then I'll see if there's enough evidence to investigate the house. It should take a couple of days, but I'll get back to you as soon as I can." The officer stood and left, taking the bag of evidence with him.

"Days?! What does he mean days?! He needs to get there now!" he had to get there now, he couldn't just leave Harry to it for a few more days, he needed to rescue him right now! It could be too late in a few days; I would never forgive myself if it was too late by the time these people got to Harry's house!

"Whoa, whoa calm it. This is just police procedure okay? They've got to get all the evidence straight before they can investigate anybody. Once they've found fingerprints and whatever else, then they'll go to the house and find Harry, okay? I told you that this was going to take time, we just have to let the police have that time." Fletch sighed, he couldn't be serious?!

Why was nobody getting that Harry had to gotten out _now?_ He could be being hurt and moved around all over the place right now, waiting could mean losing him! His last known location was the house, the police had to get to the house and get him, sod the evidence! They just had to get him _now,_ he was all the proof they needed that something was going on here! The letters were just giving them evidence that something was going on, that Harry hadn't just disappeared into thin air! They had to go right now and get Harry home! He was the evidence of foul play here, he could tell the police everything they needed to know if they just went and got him right this instant!


	73. Chapter 73

72 Harry's POV

I had to get out of here, I had to get out! The walls were closing in; there were so many eyes on me at all times! I couldn't breathe, I couldn't breathe in here!

Racing around the house, I was desperately trying to open any door or window, find _any_ space whatsoever to get out, but nothing would budge! How could everything be so locked tight?! Why couldn't just _one_ single door be open?! I needed to get out, why couldn't anything be unlocked just this _once_ damn it!?

"Get back here right now!" a guard was shouting behind me, I ran even faster in the opposite direction, racing further and further to get away. But there was nowhere to go! I was running in circles around the house, there was nowhere to go! Oh God I was trapped, I was trapped here! I couldn't get out! I needed out, I needed out!

Hands grabbed at my waist, hauling me backwards in a vice grip, I screamed out in panic, fighting as much as I could, but I didn't move an inch!

"Let me go! Let me go!" I cried out, kicking the guard in the shin, but he remained upright. His hands didn't even loosen a bit!

"No! No! Let me go! Let me go! Get off me please!" I begged and screamed, being dragged all the way up the stairs and thrown back into my room, the door wordlessly slammed in my face and locked.

"You can't do this to me! Let me go! Let me out! Let me out!" I scratched at the door, I needed out, I needed out right now! This place was suffocating, I couldn't breathe here! I needed to go home; I needed my home and my friends and fresh air and everything that was good in the world! I couldn't be here anymore! It was too much here!

I begged and pleaded for so long my voice went, my hands scraped from everything I had done to the door.

"P-Please, please! I need, I-I need Dougie, please!" I slid down the wood, curling in a ball and crying into my knees. I wanted to go home, this was too much now, I wanted to go home! I was suffocated in here, left too long without love and affection, fighting every minute to find a way to get out. This was hell; I couldn't do anything without being watched. I wanted to go home and be loved! Be allowed to do as I wished, to dress how I wanted, and _be_ who I wanted to be without the threat of being hit and locked away.

I missed Dougie so much, I missed his hugs, and the way he held onto me like I was his lifeline, I missed his laugh and his smile, I missed _him._ There was nothing I wanted more than to be in his arms again, to feel safe and warm and loved with him again. He was everything, and I couldn't even talk to him right now. The separation was killing me, I needed him here, to hold me close and tell me that everything was okay.

But it looked like that was never going to happen, I couldn't escape this place, no matter how hard I tried. I couldn't get out, couldn't find a weakness in the security. Even if I could find an open door, I'd have to get across the grounds and past the guards without anybody seeing or catching me. I was a good runner, but I wasn't _that_ good. Getting out looked hopeless, it all looked absolutely hopeless. At this rate I would never see Dougie again, never hold his tiny body to mine, or kiss him gently, or tell him I loved him. And I had left on such a bad note, on that damn argument. That damn argument could have cost us our entire relationship, all because I had been stupid enough to downplay Dougie and mines relationship.

I should have just come clean, because even if that had made my parents forcibly take me away from him, at least he would have known that I loved him. That I loved him with all my heart, and that would _never_ change. Dougie was everything; I just wanted him to know that I loved him with all my heart. If I could never see him again, I wanted him to know that I loved him, that I would always love him. I could be beaten and sent away and forced into being a perfect son, but I would _never_ stop loving him. No matter what, I would never, ever stop loving him.

"Where is that good for nothing son of mine?!" a shout was heard, footsteps storming up the stairs. Oh God, oh God, this wasn't... this wasn't going to end well!

"I-In here Sir." The guard unlocked the door, having it fly open and hit the wall not a second later.

"Dad... Dad don't do anything rash here." I backed away, fear making my stomach churn.

"Rash?! _Rash?!_ You don't want me to do anything rash when you're trying to _escape_ and making enough racket for the neighbours to hear?!" Dad shouted, storming at me and grabbing me by the throat, forcing me up against the wall, "You will _never_ do that again, you hear me? _Never,_ or I'm going to make you wish you were never born."


	74. Chapter 74

**Anybody out there who actually cares for this? Or am I just updating for the sheer hell of it?**

73 Tom's POV

Our nerves were completely frayed during the days the police spent analysing the evidence Dougie and Fletch had given them. What could be taking so long? Did it really take _that_ long to analysis a few bits of paper and a few texts? Why was it taking so long?!

Dougie was completely beside himself, pacing up and down the front room in anticipation, wearing a hole through the carpet. Danny had completely bitten off his nails, to the point where he physically couldn't get anything more off. He was now just biting at the skin, leaving his fingers sore and red. I was barely holding it together, trying my best to distract the youngest two from the outcome. But it was so difficult, Danny and Dougie were distracted by completely different things, and by now sitting Dougie in front of David Attenborough DVDs while I cooked food with Danny wasn't really working. We were running out of food to cook, and there was no room in the freezer for the left overs we _had_ cooked because nobody was eating it. And Dougie wasn't paying much attention to his DVDs anymore, he liked them but it wasn't a good enough distraction, he used to watch them with Harry on lazy Sundays, so now he was without him it only made him sadder.

I felt like tearing my hair out with this stress, why couldn't the police just _hurry up?_ They needed to get on with it and _move!_ Harry was in danger, for God's sake why weren't they _moving_ and getting him?! We couldn't get him, they had to, or we had no help to get Harry out! We needed him home, so badly, before something awful happened to him! For all we knew, something could have already happened to Harry! Oh God _why_ weren't they hurrying up?!

"Maybe they'll say something today. Maybe today will be the day of the phone call." Dougie whispered, clutching at Harry's hoodie to his chest.

"Of course, maybe today they'll phone us, you never know. Now come on, sit down a minute and relax. We can't do anything but wait." I pulled us all over to sit, keeping my arms around both of the boys to keep them still.

"I don't want to wait though! Harry could be in danger, and we're just sitting here waiting for the police to realise that something is _wrong!_ When everything is wrong! Harry's out here, probably in pain and alone! He's alone and scared and we can't figure out a way to get him back! The police are going to miss him!" Dougie stood back up again, panicked breathing picking up again.

"No, no they're not Dougie. It's going to be okay, they're going to find him and bring him home. It may not be tomorrow or next week, but they _will_ bring him home, they have to." I promised him, because it was true, they _had_ to bring Harry home soon. They had to investigate the house, had to investigate and find him and bring him home, there was no other way.

"But they're not doing anything right now! They're all just sitting there and doing _nothing,_ how could they do nothing?!" Dougie cried, "They can't do this. They need to get him because we can't! He has to be brought back to the police and soon!"

"Okay, it's okay Dougie. They'll get him back." Danny stood, wrapping his arms around Dougie.

"No!" Dougie pushed himself out of his arms, "We don't know that! We don't have any news at all! But they have to get him because there's this... this _feeling_ in my chest that Harry's in trouble and he's hurt! My chest is so tight, and I _know_ he's hurt, I can feel it! They need to save him! They have to save him!"

"And they will Dougie, they will. I promise, you just need to _breathe,_ okay? You need to breathe and calm down. You're panicking, and it's making things a lot worse. The panic is causing this bad feeling." I was gentle in bringing him close, so he didn't pull away.

"They have to get him back; they have to get him back." Dougie whispered, "I need to say I'm sorry, I need to make things okay. Harry needs to be safe; he needs to know he's loved."

"He will honey, he will. And he knows it now too, I promise he knows." Danny kissed our baby boys head, stroking his hair, just as the phone rang.

"I'll get it." Danny broke away, going to pick up the phone.

"What?! You're joking!" he shouted a second later, "No, no you have to! You don't understand... No he needs... you're joking! We gave you... fine, damn it, fine."

"Danny, what's wrong?" I asked, dread pooling in my stomach.

"They're not investigating further. We didn't give the police enough evidence." Danny growled, _what?!_


	75. Chapter 75

**indigosky17 - its okay, I'm glad to see that somebody is still interested in this!**

Chapter 74 POLICE REPORT. No POV.

Case number: 3632003

Victim name: Harry Mark Christopher Judd

Source of complaint: Threatening letters, supposedly sent from Mr Judd's parents to victim. Victim also appears to have been kidnapped by parents and forced to stay at the family home. Complaint came in from Mr Judd's manager and band mates.

Actions taken: Text messages and letter forensically analysed. Finger prints found on the paper match Thomas Fletcher, Daniel Jones, Dougie Poynter and Matthew Fletcher, none others found. No postal mark on any letter, and each text was sent from a number not associated with the Judd parents. No evidence found to tie the parents to a supposed disappearance or the letters.

Parents have been found to be upstanding members of the community, well thought of by neighbours and friends. The son, Harry, has been known to be a 'wild card' of the children, and according to sources, the parents were worried for his safety with the band. It is entirely possible for the band to be enhancing the truth to get their drummer back, when he is in fact just staying with his parents for a while, or has moved back in again.

Conclusions: Insufficient evidence to say whether Harry Judd is in fact being threatened, or has been kidnapped. Supposed kidnappers are upstanding members of the community and there is no evidence pointing to them doing anything wrong. Current theory is that this is an attempt by the band to bring back their drummer as he has left them, due to stress. No further action to be taken.


	76. Chapter 76

75 Dougie's POV

"Danny... What, what's going on?" I was scared to find out, but I had to know why the police thought there wasn't enough evidence. We had given them so much evidence; we had given them all the notes and the texts, why couldn't they see that Harry was now in _danger?_ That he could die or be seriously hurt?!

"According to their forensic lab, the only finger prints on the notes are ours, not anybody else's. And the texts didn't come from either of Harry's parents phones; they came from a random number." Danny explained, how was that even possible?!

"How aren't there any finger prints on those notes?! They must have touched them to write and post them!" I shouted, that wasn't possible, it surely was not possible! My stomach was twisting in knots at the thought, there had to be evidence on those notes, there had to be traces of that mansion, or the car that stalked us, or _something_ like that. There had to be! It wasn't possible to not leave a single trace right?

"They could have worn gloves. Harry did say they were clever." Tom explained, but, but _how?_ And why, and... _how?_

"What about the texts though?! Surely they can trace the number!" I had seen them do it on TV; the forensics people traced the number of the phone and got the information on the person who sent the texts. Couldn't they do that now?! They had to be able to do that now!

"Already tried it. It's not registered to either parent, it's from one of those pay as you go things, there's no information on the owner through those things." Danny chewed on his thumb nail as he explained; I felt the colour drain from my face in dread.

"What are they going to do then? Are they going to carry on investigating, or at least check out his parents house?!" The police had to do that, they had to. Harry was missing, they had to find him, oh God they had to find him, I couldn't, I couldn't live like this. I needed to know that my boy was safe; I needed to know this... they could kill him, they could kill him and we wouldn't even know. They could actually end his _life_ and that would be it. Even if they didn't kill him, they could beat him into submission, or do any number of horrible things to him to get him to behave. Harry was so stubborn, he wouldn't listen to them no matter what they said, they were going to hurt him so much. My Harry was going to be in pieces if someone didn't rescue him now!

"I don't know, the officer didn't tell me what they're going to do now." Danny whispered, he had to be joking right now!

"The police can't just leave it at that!" They couldn't! They couldn't just be handed this evidence and then leave us to it, that was insane! They had to investigate; they had to get Harry back! They had to get him back before he got hurt! We couldn't do it but they could, they needed to get in there and get Harry back!

"They can't! We've handed them a tonne of evidence, they can't just leave it at that and carry on like nothing happened. That would be insane!" Tom agreed, his hands tightening around my side, "Did they say what they're conclusion is? Like, did they say that Harry's classed as missing or something?"

"No, she didn't say anything about that." Danny rubbed his arm; I couldn't even feel sorry for grilling him right now. I was just so _worried;_ Harry was out there, no chances of being able to get to him or anything. He was being kept in an inescapable prison, and we couldn't get in there to get him out either. We _needed_ the police to get him out, they were our only hope, and right now it looked like they weren't going to do anything to help us.

The room span at the thought, my stomach tightening so much I felt like I was going to throw up. How could the police do this? How could they ignore everything we had just given them? They had a case on their hands; they _had_ to do something about it surely! We weren't pranking them, or telling them lies, we had given them so much evidence. They were supposed to investigate. They were supposed to investigate and get Harry home.

I was relying on the police to get him home. And hearing all of this started to make me lose hope in ever seeing Harry again. We couldn't get into that house; Harry couldn't get out of it. What other option did we have if the police couldn't even see that something was up?


	77. Chapter 77

75 Dougie's POV

"Danny... What, what's going on?" I was scared to find out, but I had to know why the police thought there wasn't enough evidence. We had given them so much evidence; we had given them all the notes and the texts, why couldn't they see that Harry was now in _danger?_ That he could die or be seriously hurt?!

"According to their forensic lab, the only finger prints on the notes are ours, not anybody else's. And the texts didn't come from either of Harry's parents phones; they came from a random number." Danny explained, how was that even possible?!

"How aren't there any finger prints on those notes?! They must have touched them to write and post them!" I shouted, that wasn't possible, it surely was not possible! My stomach was twisting in knots at the thought, there had to be evidence on those notes, there had to be traces of that mansion, or the car that stalked us, or _something_ like that. There had to be! It wasn't possible to not leave a single trace right?

"They could have worn gloves. Harry did say they were clever." Tom explained, but, but _how?_ And why, and... _how?_

"What about the texts though?! Surely they can trace the number!" I had seen them do it on TV; the forensics people traced the number of the phone and got the information on the person who sent the texts. Couldn't they do that now?! They had to be able to do that now!

"Already tried it. It's not registered to either parent, it's from one of those pay as you go things, there's no information on the owner through those things." Danny chewed on his thumb nail as he explained; I felt the colour drain from my face in dread.

"What are they going to do then? Are they going to carry on investigating, or at least check out his parents house?!" The police had to do that, they had to. Harry was missing, they had to find him, oh God they had to find him, I couldn't, I couldn't live like this. I needed to know that my boy was safe; I needed to know this... they could kill him, they could kill him and we wouldn't even know. They could actually end his _life_ and that would be it. Even if they didn't kill him, they could beat him into submission, or do any number of horrible things to him to get him to behave. Harry was so stubborn, he wouldn't listen to them no matter what they said, they were going to hurt him so much. My Harry was going to be in pieces if someone didn't rescue him now!

"I don't know, the officer didn't tell me what they're going to do now." Danny whispered, he had to be joking right now!

"The police can't just leave it at that!" They couldn't! They couldn't just be handed this evidence and then leave us to it, that was insane! They had to investigate; they had to get Harry back! They had to get him back before he got hurt! We couldn't do it but they could, they needed to get in there and get Harry back!

"They can't! We've handed them a tonne of evidence, they can't just leave it at that and carry on like nothing happened. That would be insane!" Tom agreed, his hands tightening around my side, "Did they say what they're conclusion is? Like, did they say that Harry's classed as missing or something?"

"No, she didn't say anything about that." Danny rubbed his arm; I couldn't even feel sorry for grilling him right now. I was just so _worried;_ Harry was out there, no chances of being able to get to him or anything. He was being kept in an inescapable prison, and we couldn't get in there to get him out either. We _needed_ the police to get him out, they were our only hope, and right now it looked like they weren't going to do anything to help us.

The room span at the thought, my stomach tightening so much I felt like I was going to throw up. How could the police do this? How could they ignore everything we had just given them? They had a case on their hands; they _had_ to do something about it surely! We weren't pranking them, or telling them lies, we had given them so much evidence. They were supposed to investigate. They were supposed to investigate and get Harry home.

I was relying on the police to get him home. And hearing all of this started to make me lose hope in ever seeing Harry again. We couldn't get into that house; Harry couldn't get out of it. What other option did we have if the police couldn't even see that something was up?


	78. Chapter 78

76 Harry's POV

Dad didn't talk to me after his outburst, unless it was to give me some sort of order. He wouldn't even argue with me, even when I felt brave enough to _try_ and argue with him. He had scared me when he'd chucked me against that wall, squeezing my neck tight enough to make it a little difficult to breathe, but making sure he wasn't leaving any marks. I had never seen this side to him before, and it was terrifying to see it now. Dad wasn't someone to be messed with anymore, not often anyway.

Mum didn't really seem to care either, she fussed originally, making sure there wasn't any bruising, but other than that the only thing she said on the matter was that 'your father has a temper, you really shouldn't push him.' Which wasn't exactly _helpful_ in this matter. I swore she used to care enough to actually make sure I was okay, and you know, _stop Dad from being crazy._ I guessed not though. That or I had pushed her a bit too far recently with my actions.

Then again, if she hadn't put me in this situation then I wouldn't have any need to push boundaries at all. So really it was still all _their_ fault, and not mine.

I sighed at my thoughts, wandering down a corridor, closely followed by a guard. He wasn't talking, or acknowledging my existence further than pulling me back into line if I veered off too far. Not that I could escape this hell hole, I had gone over the house. No escape routes. F*ck.

Eventually, I found myself in the library, for no reason other than that was where my feet had taken me. There had been a time when I had thought of bringing Dougie in here one day, showing him all the books and paintings in the room. We owned several pieces of nautical equipment because Dad liked sailing, and Dougie would have liked to check them out because he loved pirates. A few years ago, I was sure that one day I'd be able to bring him in here and show him everything, tell him stories of how this was where I had done homework before I had been shipped off to school, where I had practiced drumming too, because the room absorbed sound well, so the rest of the house wasn't disturbed.

I would have shown him all the books and nautical stuff, told him the stories behind them, asked if he wanted to go out with me on the family boat for a long weekend away together. I'd have proposed on that boat, under the stars, after a wonderful weekend. It would have been a beautiful weekend too, spent exploring the seas, putting all of Dougie's book based knowledge to the test, possible toy sword fights if the mood took us that way, because we were still children at heart.

Walking over to one of the display cases, I caught my reflection in the glass. The black eye I had recently received didn't exactly look good when you're planning to propose. Not that I was getting the chance to do so anyway. Bl**dy Mum and Dad, with their need to control everything, keeping everything _perfect_ and _up to standards,_ taking me away from the love of my life. And if that wasn't bad enough, I was now getting _hit_ for my so called mistakes, and now they were leaving marks. I hated them, hated them for doing this to me. It wasn't fair, none of it was fair, or right, or anything!

Angrily, I pushed glass, trying to knock it over. But the stupid thing didn't even budge, not even an _inch._ Why wouldn't it move?! I wanted to _destroy_ something, make my anger at the situation known to everybody. I wanted the whole house to know that I was absolutely _livid_ in the situation, that I may have quietened down but I wasn't done fighting. I would _never_ be done fighting.

"Stop that this instant." The guard yanked me back before I could try again.

"No! Why should I? You're holding my bl**dy hostage!" I pulled out of his arms, shoving him backwards. But the absolute a*sehole didn't even wobble.

"For your own good. Now get out of here." The guard hissed, shoving me out of the room so hard I couldn't even fight him.

His radio crackled once he'd slammed the door closed. "Calling all units. Calling all units. Bring the boy to the office. I repeat whoever is with the boy, bring him to the office." That was my code name now, _the boy,_ there was a time it had been _Harry,_ and _trouble_ if you were the more affectionate staff members. Now it was just _the boy_ like I didn't even have an identity.

"Message received, I'm by the library, I'll bring him in now." my guard answered, getting a 'roger' back in response.

Without even saying a word, he grabbed me by the arm and yanked me off to the office, where apparently Dad was for the day. I hadn't even noticed that he hadn't left the house. Not that it made much difference if he was here or not, it wasn't like we were on speaking terms right now. Though it looked like that was about to change...

"Come to apologise?" Dad asked as I was pushed inside.

"Not likely." I wasn't about to apologise, and if Dad had brought me here to do that he could shove that idea up his-

"Thought not. But down to business. Your mother and I have a plan to get you over this ridiculous boy you are so fixated on." Dad almost sounded _kind._

"Not going to happen. I love him, and no matter what you do or say, that isn't going to change." Fear pooled in my stomach in dread of what Dad was going to do now.

"It will when we say it will. We are going to hold a ball next week, and are going to find you a new suitor, one that can be trusted. You get no say in the matter, this will be happening." Dad told me simply, like he was telling me what was for dinner.

"You cannot be serious. You're going to _pair me off_ with someone in the hopes it gets me over Dougie?" I snorted, "Yeah right, that is the _stupidest_ plan I have ever heard in my life!" I couldn't believe it; Dad thought that finding another person to pair me off with would make me forget Dougie? How stupid could he be exactly?!

"It's going to happen Harry, we're going to find you an actual suitor and you will soon forget about this _Dougie_ character. Maybe then you will see that we were right all along." Dad answered; glare just daring me to answer back. Well this time I was _daring._

" _Never_ going to happen. And you know why? Because I _love_ Dougie, he is the love of my _life,_ so much so, I was planning on _proposing_ to him. If you think I'm going to that up to please you, then you are _sorely_ mistaken." I shouldn't have said it but damn it if Dad was going to try these stupid plans, than I was going to rile him up and make it so difficult he may as well have not bothered trying!

"You were planning _what?_ " Dad hissed, his face going red... maybe that hadn't been the best idea...


	79. Chapter 79

77 Dougie's POV

"I'm going to phone Fletch." Tom pulled out his phone, letting me sink to the ground while the world span around me. _This wasn't happening, this really was not happening._ It couldn't be happening; the police had to get Harry. There was no other option, they had to get him. It was ridiculous to think that they wouldn't. Harry was needed here, he needed rescuing. So he had to be saved by the police. Them not investigating wasn't even a possibility, they had to get him because they _had_ to.

"This isn't happening, this isn't happening." I whispered to myself, worrying for my boy more and more. He wasn't safe, he wasn't safe, he needed to be safe. We had to make him safe so I could make it up to him and love him and show him how much I cared and how much I didn't mean a word I said to him in that argument. He had to be rescued and I had to tell him that, I couldn't let him go and I couldn't let him believe I meant a word of what I said. It wasn't happening, it couldn't be happening.

"Dougie, can you breathe?" Danny asked me, lifting my head to look at him.

"I, the room, its spinning. I can't, I need Harry, they need to get him." they had to get him, it wasn't... they had to bring him home.

"Tom's phoning Fletch right now, he'll get things moving." Danny promised, bringing me closer to him, leaning my head against his chest.

"You've said, you've said that before. It didn't work." Tom and Danny were _always_ saying that Fletch would fix things, that Fletch would get the ball rolling to get something done, but it didn't work! They never delivered! Fletch did nothing!

"It has to Doug; we have to believe that it has to eventually." Danny kissed my hair gently.

"But, but we don't know what's happening to him. He could be... we don't know!" I had horrible images of Harry being beaten black and blue in my head, it could have been happening to him right now and we wouldn't even know about it!

"We don't, but there's nothing we can do about it, apart from try our best to get him home. If we could get him ourselves, I promise you we would, but we can't. We're doing our best though, and that's all we can do." Danny sighed, rubbing my back for comfort.

Tom came back eventually, falling down to sit with us, groaning into his hands.

"Not good news?" Danny asked, reaching over to hold his boyfriends hand.

"Not exactly. Fletch said he'd handle it, without saying what exactly he was going to handle. He just said to sit tight and he'd get back to us." Tom answered, running his free hand through his hair.

"Sitting tight is doing nothing." I grumbled, because it _wasn't_ doing anything. It was just sitting around with no results, something had to be done and soon!

"It's not, but I'm not sure what else we can do." Tom sighed, flopping to lie on the floor like he was exhausted.

"We can't just continue to sit here though!" I wouldn't allow it, we had to do something and soon if nobody else would!

"Course not. If Fletch can't get the police to move, then I think it's time we got involved in the rescue mission." Tom suggested, that sounded a bit more like it!

"How though?" Danny asked.

"Not a clue." Tom shrugged, fingers tapping patterns against his chest.

"Has anyone phoned Thomas or Katherine?" I suggested, because really, had anybody phoned them? They could have been of some use to us, they were on our side, but their parents still trusted them...

"Thomas is out of the country so he can't do anything. Katherine is also busy, I think if they knew where Harry was they would have told us, or at least tried to get him out." Tom explained, "I already tried phoning them before."

"F*ck." I swore.

"When's Thomas coming back?" I asked, hopefully soon. The sooner the better in this case.

"End of the month." Tom answered, "Have a plan?"

"We wait for Fletch to sort things by the end of the month. If they don't get him back, then we talk to Thomas and figure out some way to get him back ourselves." I resolved, it was a plan, we had to do _something._ This would be a start the least. Thomas had his ways into the house, he could be useful, at the least he could send messages between us all.

"Right, sounds like something of a plan. Gives Fletch two more weeks, then we'll start getting proactive ourselves." Tom agreed with a smile.

 _Finally,_ we could do something!


	80. Chapter 80

**Anybody going to Anthology Tour? I've only got 26 days to go and I'M SO EXCITED!**

CHAPTER 78 NEWS REPORT. NO POV

 _Silence Is A Scary Sound_

 _Recently, McFly drummer Harry Judd came out as gay to the world, leaving the music world reeling. For weeks he was subjected to questions over his recent coming out, as well as who his lover was. Harry was more than happy to explain his reasons for coming out, but was decidedly quiet about who he was dating._

 _But then it all stopped. Nothing has been heard from Harry in a long while. In fact, nobody has heard from the whole band for weeks. They haven't been doing interviews, haven't been seen out and about in daily life, and there hasn't been an announcement of them going into the studio to make a new album._

 _So where are they? Why is there so much silence from the McFly camp? Has something happened? We don't know, but the timing is rather odd. Harry comes out, and suddenly the whole band go quiet. It's like they have taken an oath of silence, which isn't going to work. The world wants to know who Harry Judd is dating, and McFly fans want more music._

 _If those boys don't clear things up soon, it probably won't end well._


	81. Chapter 81

79 Harry's POV

"And what happened to you then?" The in-house doctor asked, dabbing an antiseptic wipe over my eyebrow, clearing away blood before it dripped into my eye.

"Fell down some stairs." I answered under the glare of my still-fuming father. The woman clearly didn't believe me, but didn't say a word. Apparently everybody was turning a blind eye to this, or at least were too scared to say a word. It made me briefly wonder if Dad was like this all the time, not just because I was here. He certainly hadn't been when I was a kid, what had changed, apart from me?

"Ouch, sounds rough. You were always an accident prone boy though." The doctor sighed, it went unspoken that as a child I was actually accident prone, and didn't look where I was going, and so ran into things too often to count.

"You'll have to learn to curb that." Dad grumbled, glaring over our doctor's head as she poked at my ribs. The message was clear, _stop being a little brat and disobeying everything._

"Well, it looks like you're just bruised, no permanent damage done. It'll hurt to breathe for a while, but you should be fine in a few days, if you have any concerns, come back and I'll give you another go-over." She smiled encouragingly, though her eyes were sympathetic. I appreciated it, I didn't get much sympathy around here, or anything other than distain and disappointment.

"Cheers," I hoped off the table, feeling Dad's glare on me, "I mean thanks." No need to p*ss him off more with slang right now. I'd prefer a few days worth of recovery before I tried that again around him...

Slowly, I headed out of the office, shuffling off to do... something. Possibly figure out a way to escape this hell hole during this _party_ we were having. It sounded like a disaster waiting to happen, a party specifically for me to find a 'new man' to make me forget about Dougie, it wasn't likely. But if Dad was going to react like _that_ when he found out I was planning on proposing, I dreaded to think what he would do to me if I didn't follow along with his plans... I had to get out of here though, I couldn't stay, that would be ridiculous. I wasn't about to cheat on Dougie, not even for the sake of my health. But that meant I had to get out, the party was my last shot...

"Where do you think you're going?" Dad growled, I stopped in my tracks.

"Er..." _don't mention what just happened; don't mention what just happened,_ "Nowhere."

"Good, I want a word." The words made me gulp in fear.

"I-I'm listening." I tried my best to not look fearful, but really all I wanted to do was _run_ very far away and hide in a very dark hole where Dad could not find me. I didn't want to even think of what he was about to say.

"Good. Now listen closely," Dad got really close, hissing into my face, "Because of your actions, we're delaying this party for a while so nobody see's the product of you _falling down the stairs_. In that time you're not going to complain about this plan, or anything. You're going to be a good little boy and _behave,_ or the marks won't be on your face this time." He indicated the rest of me, my lungs felt like they were being crushed.

"During the party, you will be _polite,_ and _kind,_ and _attentive._ You will not complain or let anybody know what is going on in the house, or say that you are taken because you are not. You are not with that _vermin_ anymore; you will never see him again if I have my way. Pining after him will get you nowhere, you are to move on and find another man to pair off with. Someone your mother and I approve of, and you will not push this person away, you will have an honest relationship and be _normal_ for once. Is that understood?" Dad made me nod, "And if you don't do as I say, then I will make sure that _boy_ you like so much will never see the light of day again. I'll make him drown in misery; make sure he isn't even a _footnote_ in your life. So no funny business of trying to escape or acting like a little brat, got it?" I nodded again.

"Good, now get out of my sight. I don't want to hear a _peep_ out of you." Dad growled. I ran.


	82. Chapter 82

80 Dougie's POV

 _Harry curled up around me, holding my body so close to his I could almost hear his heart beating against my chest. He was warm and solid, tangling our legs together and burying his face in my neck, keeping our bodies as close as he possibly could. I loved it, loved_ _ **him,**_ _lying like this was the best thing I could ever experience; I loved to lie like this._

 _There was no need for words, or for more displays of affection. We could just lie here, not even sleeping, just enjoy each other presence without an issue. It was a beautiful way to spend an afternoon, if I had a choice in the matter, I would have laid out like this for the rest of my life. If only just to feel my boy so close to me, enjoy every moment I had with him. He was everything; I would truly be lost without my Harry._

 _"_ _I love you." I had to break the silence to whisper it, reaching round to hold onto Harry's head, his hair tickling my palm._

 _"_ _Mmm, love you too Dougs." Harry kissed my shoulder, pushing himself into it._

 _"_ _Will we stay like this forever, do you think?" I asked, because I wanted to stay like this. I wanted to keep us close all the time. I didn't want us to part, or be without each other._

 _"_ _Forever and ever. Until we're old and grey, wrinkled and barely able to stand." Harry promised, squeezing my waist gently._

 _"_ _Really?" I was scared, because of his parents. They wouldn't like that, if they ever found out about this they would kill us. Or at least me._

 _"_ _Of course. I'm never leaving you Dougie. You're my boy, and I'm going to marry you one day." Harry made my breath catch for a second._

 _"_ _A-Are you really?" we had never discussed marriage before, but it did sound appealing. Dougie Poynter-Judd, or Dougie Judd, that certainly sounded appealing to me._

 _"_ _Yep. I'm going to one day, that I can promise. Dougie Judd has a nice ring to it, don't you think?" Harry smiled into my shoulder._

 _"_ _It does. It, it really does." I looked at my hand, imagining a wedding ring on it, imagining getting married to Harry. It sounded like a dream come to true to me._

I woke up wrapped in warmth, and for a split second, I thought I was with Harry. But the positions were all wrong, there was warmth on _both_ sides, and the arms weren't muscular enough, or the chest. It wasn't...

I was in Tom and Danny's room, having fallen asleep between them the night before, thanks to a late night chat. It was another one spent thinking of how to get Harry out, and currently all we had was 'wait for Thomas to get back in the country,' which was a _cr*p_ plan. But what else could we do? Damn it.

Sighing, I curled up closer to Danny's chest, pretending for a moment that I was lying with Harry instead. I missed him so much, was dreaming of him more and more, waking up feeling more lonely than I ever had in the past. In the last three years, I could count on one hand how many times I had woken up without Harry in bed with me. He'd _always_ woken with me, or at least stayed until I woke up, I'd felt so safe with him. And now I missed him, missed him _so much._

Staring at my hand, I could still imagine that engagement ring on my finger, followed by a wedding ring. There was nothing more than I wanted than to marry my Harry, fulfil those dreams we had dreamt up that time ago. I'd have loved that big wedding, showing everyone that we loved each other. I wasn't usually one for big showy things, or public displays of affection, but I would make an exception for that type of day.

Right now though, I would bypass the entire wedding, the marriage, everything, as long as Harry was back with me. As long as I knew he was _safe,_ that he was happy and not being hurt by his parents, by anyone. I just wanted him home and safe. I'd forgo everything else as long as he was safe.


	83. Chapter 83

81 Harry's POV

Mum had me fitted for a new suit for the party, gushing over how perfect I would look and how nobody would be able to keep their hands off me the whole time. She even started bragging to her friends about just how _brilliant_ this was going to be, how _fantastic_ I looked, how anybody would be so _lucky_ to have me. It was like this was my first outing into the world, where I was getting introduced to everyone, which was ridiculous. All the people attending had known me since I was a _baby;_ they had seen me at the last damn party and knew exactly what I looked like and how I was.

I reckoned she was doing it just to big me up a bit and get some gossip going, so people knew that I was 'available' for the picking. It caused a big stir among the families in the neighbourhood; I was apparently the talk of the town. The rebellious Judd boy, being pulled back into the fray again. The mothers were all getting their sons and daughters ready to take me in, straighten out the 'bad boy' in me, gain extra credit for setting me 'straight.' It was _disgusting._

For f*ck sake, did I _look_ like a rebellious bad boy?! What was so wrong about my personality that I needed _reigning in?_ I was perfectly fine as I was; I didn't need straightening out or anything. What I needed was to go home to my _boyfriend_ who needed me more than these a*sholes needed their extra credit. I was _not_ on the market, hell I wasn't bl**dy _cattle_ to be sold to the highest bidder either! Who did these people think I was?! What did they think I was?!

But I couldn't let the anger show, or any emotion towards any of it really. It all had be kept quiet, so everyone thought that I was _back in line again,_ that this wasn't just one massive screw up thanks to my parents and their crazy ideas. And thanks to Dad's threatening, I couldn't even tell anybody to f*ck right off with all this sh*t, that I was _happily taken_ and that this was all being forced on me.

I was dreading the party, properly, honestly, _dreading_ it. I was not keen at all on the idea of it, on any part of any of it really. Even if I had been single, I _hated_ these parties with a passion, I didn't like the people there, or the inter-family gossip, or the music, or the pretentious nature of the whole thing. Every party was a chance to show off to the neighbours, proving that you had the biggest house, the better children, the richer family, one upping each other constantly, using thinly veiled sarcasm to achieve it. It was a complete nightmare, and why anybody would want to go to one of these things was anyone's guess. If I could have put it off I would have.

"Can't we just wait until after Thomas comes home?" I asked, surely my parents could wait for their golden boy to come home for this right?

"No, this time Thomas can miss out, he's been to enough." Mum answered, continuing to write down her list of requirements for this party.

"But don't you want him to come home and brag to everybody about how success he is?" I couldn't even hide my sarcasm there. We all knew it was true, what was the point hiding?

"Harry this is _your_ party, not his." Mum sighed, like I was being the difficult one.

"I don't even want a party Mum. I just want; I just don't want to be paraded around like some sort of trophy." I just about avoided saying that I wanted to go home, it wouldn't score me any brownie points right now.

"You're not being paraded around like a trophy; you're being shown off to people, so they know you're available, so you can find a new partner, one who you can trust!" Mum smiled; my God she was deluded in her understanding of _trust._

"Mum _please,_ I don't want a massive party, I'm fine as I am!" the least amount of cheating I could get away the better. I'd already accepted that if this went ahead, I could probably get away with not finding someone at _this_ party, but at the next I would have to. And if I couldn't escape by then, then I was going to have to do something I was going to regret and feel guilty over for the rest of my life. I didn't even want to think about how much I was going to have to do to make it up to Dougie for all of this. If he ever forgave me for doing this in the first place that is.

"Well you're having one! It's about time you stopped moping around this house and trying to escape, you need a nice relationship to make you forget all about that _boy_ you were seeing. This will be good for you!" Mum stood, squeezing my arms like that would make me believe her. I flinched in pain instead, feeling a bruise being pushed a bit too far by her hand.

"I don't need-" I got cut off.

"Harry, for once in your life, just listen to me okay? This party is going to happen regardless of how you feel, and you will see our point of view in the end. We are doing this for your benefit, stop fighting please; it will make all of this go so much faster." Mum pleaded, but how could I stop fighting when this was the one thing I _really_ didn't want?!


	84. Chapter 84

82 Dougie's POV

"Have you gotten anywhere Fletch?" I asked, having phoned up our manager, wanting an update.

"Not yet I'm afraid. The police aren't exactly listening to me right now." Fletch sighed in answer, _f*ck._

"But are they at least investigating?" They had to at _least_ be looking into where Harry was. He was _missing,_ that meant the police had to get involved!

"Yeah, they're looking into where Harry could have gone. They don't like the look of the messages, despite thinking the notes were fake, and they can't deny that Harry isn't currently here, or that he suddenly disappeared." Fletch answered, I sighed in relief.

"At least that's something." They would surely find something to go on that would lead them to Harry's parents. If not, well, the end of the month was the cut off point before we got involved and took matters into our own hands. How, I didn't know yet, but we would figure something out with Thomas when he flew back into England, I was sure of it.

"It is... How are you doing by the way? You three hanging in there alright?" Fletch asked, the sound of paper rustling in the background.

"We're doing okay I guess, going along as best we can." I replied, because what else could I say? Could I say that I couldn't sleep properly without Harry next to me, that I was having nightmares that he was being hurt; that my waking moments were filled with memories of happier times and worry over what was happening to him right now? Could I really say that Tom and Danny were trying their hardest to distract me, to give me something to do to take my mind off things, but it wasn't working because I _couldn't stop_ thinking about Harry? Fletch knew all those things, he knew that we were struggling; there was no point in telling him again.

"Good, Tom and Danny taking good care of you?" Fletch did worry though, he was like another parent to us all.

"Yeah, they're making sure I eat and sleep, trying to keep me distracted." I nodded, despite the fact that he couldn't see it.

"I'm glad, just, pay attention to them Doug, alright? Don't go wandering off, or trying one man rescue missions, I can't lose you too. I need the three of you safe, so I can focus on Harry." Fletch warned, like I would even _try_ a one man rescue mission... Who was I kidding; I probably would if I got desperate enough. I couldn't stand all this waiting around, the not knowing how Harry was, waiting for him to get home and not knowing when or if that was going to happen. If I could, I would have swooped in and saved him already.

"I won't do anything dangerous Fletch, don't worry." Even if I did, it would be with Tom and Danny in tow, so we'd all still technically be together. We'd just... not be very safe at the same time.

"Make sure that you don't. I worry enough about you boys without it all going kamikaze. Just let me do my job, I'll get Harry back as soon as I can, I'll keep you all updated as I go along." Fletch promised, which I guessed was the best I could hope for right now.

"Thanks, let us know when you get a break through." I prayed he got a break through soon.

"I will, don't worry kiddo. So take a deep breath and relax, I'll bring our boy home, don't you worry about it." Fletch sounded like he believed that, but I didn't know if I could. He wasn't... after everything that had happened recently, I didn't think he could promise that right now, or ever for that matter.

We'd tried several times to get Harry out, and it hadn't worked. We were getting desperate over here, and knowing that Harry was being locked up tight wasn't helping matters. If _lawyers_ couldn't reason with his parents, then the police had to. But they weren't looking in the right place at the moment, they could go off on a completely different tangent, or get blocked somehow if they did figure out where to look. If they did, then we were going to have to take over. It would probably be mainly down to Thomas to figure things out and get Harry physically out of that place, because he had access. But we didn't even know right now how we were going to manage it.

This was getting more worrying by the minute, when was this ever going to _stop_ and give Harry back to us?


	85. Chapter 85

**Anybody going to Anthology? If so, have fun, and if you're going to London, I'll see you there!**

83 Harry's POV

"Is Katherine coming?" I asked, figuring that at the _least_ I could ask about the damn guest list to this ball thing.

"No. She's busy." Dad answered without even looking away from his newspaper.

"So out of our family it's just going to be the three of us?" _perfect,_ just want I wanted, an evening of being stuck with my parents and tonnes of posh people I couldn't stand, with no backup from friends, boyfriend or siblings.

"Precisely." Dad turned the page nonchalantly. This was planned, definitely planned. Well sh*t.

"Fine, so who else is turning up?" I asked, trying to figure out if that would p*ss Dad off, surely not if I was just asking who was attending. It wasn't like I was being defiant or anything, I was just simply _asking_ about what was going on...

"Everybody of course! All the families from the area!" Mum was at least enthusiastic, though I half wished she wasn't.

"The usual suspects then. Anybody I get along with at all?" Dad's hands tightened around his paper at the question.

"Harry you get along with all of them." Mum told me, it sounded like she was ordering me to believe that I did, even though it was well known in this family that I didn't like _anybody_ at any of these parties. I hated them all; they were all so snooty and looked down on anything that they disapproved of. I hadn't made their standard, not properly, in about ten years.

"Even if you don't you will learn to." Dad warned with an edge to his voice. I hadn't forgotten his threat to Dougie's life, and I had no doubt that he would do something to him if I didn't try to fall in line. Hell, I had no doubt he'd hurt Dougie even if I _did_ fall in line, just to make sure I knew who was boss around here. The thought made me shiver, dread pooling in my stomach.

It looked like I would have to go through with this, get it over and deal with it in any way I could, to make sure Dougie wasn't hurt. I didn't know how far Dad would go with this, didn't know if he would just threaten him or actually have him physically hurt. Either way, I wouldn't allow my boy to feel pain through all this, he was probably already so worried and scared, adding Dad on top of that wouldn't end well.

Dougie was a fragile little guy; he worried so much and felt everything intensely. He was shy and mostly scared of the world, only really feeling safe when he was with me, Tom and Danny. This whole situation had been causing him a lot of pain, he had tried to hide it from me when I was still with him, but I could tell he was experiencing a lot of anxiety over what was going on. But now that we were separated, I dreaded to think what state he was in. He probably wasn't sleeping or eating right, or really functioning at all outside of his worrying. Adding in what happened the last time we were together, I was sure he was a complete mess right now. He didn't need to have Dad hurting him on top of that, didn't need to be punished for my mistakes. He hadn't done anything.

All Dougie had done was dare to fall in love with me, to be my partner in every sense of the word. I couldn't let him be hurt for that, couldn't let him be hurt anyway. He didn't deserve it. Nobody did. So that meant I had to do as Dad said, but even doing that would hurt Dougie emotionally if he found out what was going on over here...

He'd be less hurt by me playing Dad's game than by Dad's hand itself. I'd make it up to him when I saw him again; make sure he knew that I did it all to save him, to survive this mess. I wasn't about to let him get hurt when I could just follow orders for a while. I could do this, be nice and act the part for a little while, make up excuses for not finding anybody until I could get out of here. Yeah, I could do that. I'd make it up to Dougie when I saw him again, because I would see him again. I wasn't going to lay down and let this happen without any fight at all, I'd escape again soon, I just had to bide my time and do as Dad said for a bit.

"Fine, I'll play nice." I gave in, "What time do I have to be ready by?" better start sucking up now; the party was in a few hours.


	86. Chapter 86

84 Danny's POV

Dougie hung up from his phone call with Fletch, not looking at all cheered up at all.

"Bad news?" I asked, hoping it wasn't _too_ bad news. It couldn't be though, could it? Dougie wasn't panicking, or crying, so it couldn't be that bad... right?

"No news. Fletch is still talking to the police, but they're still not willing to investigate Harry's parents without proper cause." Dougie sighed, pocketing the phone.

"Damn it. At least they're investigating though, right? It's better than nothing." I tried to smile for him, squeezing his shoulder.

"I guess. Still though, why can't they believe us in the first place? We're the ones in the know, surely that accounts for something?" Dougie gave me puppy dog eyes.

"Apparently not when your family is incredibly rich and well regarded." Tom sighed as he wandered into the room, carrying shopping bags.

Tom had taken comfort in running the house recently, making sure we were eating reasonably well, sleeping at least a few hours a day, and that we generally didn't die. Lord knew that Dougie would not have been okay without Tom's help, the poor boy would have been in hospital by now after collapsing or something.

"Shouldn't stop them investigating." Dougie grumbled, letting me pull him close to my chest.

"It shouldn't, but that's apparently how the world works nowadays. Did Fletch say anything else?" Tom started unpacking the shopping.

"He warned me not to run off on a Harry saving mission by myself. Said it would worry him more, so he couldn't focus on Harry." Dougie answered, I snorted.

"If only he knew that we're planning something if he doesn't get a move on soon." I wasn't going to listen to Fletch in this matter; we would set about getting Harry back ourselves if he couldn't do it himself. And currently, it looked like he was getting nowhere, so we were going to get involved and get our drummer out. He'd thank us when Harry was home and safe.

"He'd hit the roof and try to stop us." Dougie replied, playing with the bracelet on his wrist.

"That he would, so we should keep this between us and Thomas. When we get Harry back, say it was Thomas who got him out." Tom answered, that sounded like an idea...

"Won't matter what happens then, because Harry will be back." Dougie mumbled.

"True. Though we will have to take precautions, to make sure Harry's parents can't get at him again." I pointed out; thinking about it, getting Harry out and keeping him away from his parents could prove difficult...

"No, the police can get involved and take them away from him forever." Dougie shook his head, looking like he wholeheartedly believed that.

"What about the people who work for them? They're well connected; they could try and get him too." Tom also had a point, what would happen if the people who worked for Harry's parents were ordered to get him? We could stop his parents, not the people who worked for them...

"What would they even do to him then? Without his parents, there's no point, because their reputation is ruined, so keeping up Harry's appearance won't matter, surely?" that had to be true, because what was the point in trying to keep up appearances if Harry's parents were in jail themselves?

"Good point, but they could get him back out of spite." Tom again had a point, "Though maybe after his parents are jailed or whatever, the rule of the money and everything goes to Harry, Thomas and Katherine, they'll be able to call off things... I think..." Tom bit his lip, suddenly looking unsure of himself.

"We'll ask Thomas when he gets here." Dougie suggested, chewing on his own lip, his skin losing about three shades of colour from them.

"Yeah, ask him, he'll know." Tom agreed, "Now come on, no point in thinking about this type of stuff now, it's pointless to speculate without knowing all the details. Thomas will be home in a week, we'll figure out any holes in our plans then."

I didn't like the sound of this new train of thought though. What would happen if Harry's parents could still control their guards and whoever else worked for them? What if they could order them to get Harry back for a third time? That could spell disaster, I just had this terrible thought in my mind of Harry being serious injured, or worse _killed,_ in spite of this. What if that happened? What if it had _already_ happened? That couldn't happen, they couldn't do that to our Harry, they couldn't do it!

But how could we stop them? Double security again? That had done nothing before! What would it do now? Nothing! We had to do _something_ to ensure Harry's safety when he was back with us, what though was a mystery...

"Hey, come on; don't think about it right now. We'll ask Thomas when he gets here." Tom smiled, pulling my nails away from my teeth. Looking in his eyes, I could see that he was scared too, but he was hiding it, probably for Dougie's sake. But could we really afford to not think about this? We had to do something to make sure Harry was safe, but we knew _nothing_ about how the family worked. We were going to have to wait for Thomas, even though I _really_ didn't want to. I wanted to get something done right now, but without information I couldn't!

This was driving me insane, I needed something to do!


	87. Chapter 87

85 Harry's POV

Sighing, I let Mum adjust my tie for the fifth time in ten minutes, trying my best to not fidget or give away that I _really_ didn't want to be here right now. I could hear the music and the chatter from the party, people had been steadily arriving for about an hour now, and Mum had hidden me upstairs until it was 'the right time,' whatever that meant. I couldn't see why I couldn't just go downstairs and get this over and done with already, I mean, I was _ready_ in my suit and everything, why couldn't I just go and get it over with? It wasn't like I wanted this party, or to be pulled about by parents desperate to get me to 'forget' Dougie, so why I had to wait I didn't know.

"We wait for the right time, so everyone is here, so they can all see you at the same time." Mum answered, straightening my collar.

"But _why?_ They all know what I look like already." Half the people downstairs had known me since I was a _child,_ possibly since I was a damn baby, why did I need to be showed off?

"Because this is your debut! You need to be shown off, everyone needs to see you again, so they can witness the _real_ you, not the one you have been showing off for the past four years. We're doing this to wipe the slate clean and show that you're still a good boy, despite past mistakes." Mum answered, I resisted groaning/moaning/rolling my eyes/any reaction to that _stupid_ idea. My God everyone was acting like we had to wipe the slate clean after I had _murdered_ someone or something. I had joined a band and fallen in love with a bassist, who I still loved and adored, that wasn't something that needed wiping from my history!

"Fine, can we get this over with then?" I answered with instead, wanting this over with. The sooner I could get through this party, the better. It wasn't like I was actually going to get with anybody, or even hit it off; I didn't like the people here. I would have to come up with an excuse for it later on, and that I wasn't looking forward to, but I could worry about that later. This party needed to be finished, and soon, I really did not want to be a part of this.

"When everyone has arrived." Mum replied, a message being sent up half an agonising hour later, saying that everyone had arrived.

"Brilliant! Get everyone gathered around the stairs, we'll be down in a minute." Mum ordered, before turning to me, "Now remember what I said Harry, stand up straight, shoulders back, walk with pride but not too much pride. Please no slang terms, or talking about the band, or about your band mates, if anybody asks about it say that you have _moved on_ from that silliness. Oh, and smile a bit, you have a lovely smile, good enough to get a few people swooning." She continued, _God did she want anything else from me?_ I could draw blood too if she wanted it. Oh maybe then she could _clone_ me and get that one doing all this sh*t instead of me. I wouldn't mind being disowned at this point, so I could go back to the band.

Wow that was a brilliant idea actually. Clone me; get the clone to take my place in this family while the real family disown me. I could go back to being in McFly, the clone could be the perfect son my parents wanted, and everyone could be happy! Yes, let's do _that,_ instead of forcing me to go through this entire charade in some vein hope to find me a lover to replace Dougie. Like anybody could replace that boy in my heart...

Okay, I _really_ needed to spend some time with Dougie again, I was starting to use his sci-fi terms in my internal monologues. That cute little nerd, I loved it when he talked about this futuristic stuff, or anything that had ever appeared in Star Wars. When I got home I'd happily have a marathon with him, as long as we got to snuggle up on the sofa, or in bed, together, and I got to see his smile again.

I really missed Dougie. Really, really missed him. I wished he was here, even though he was hate every second, I still wished he was by my side; it would make this so much easier.

"Come on Harry, it's time to go down. The people down there have waited long enough for you; it's time to give them what they want." Mum grabbed my hand and pulled me to the landing overlooking the hall, where hundreds of people were looking up at me expectantly.

"Hello everyone, it's been too long! Now we all know that this party is to reintroduce you to my son, so without further ado, I give you my youngest son - Harry!" Mum subtly pushed me to walk down the stairs. Every single pair of eyes tracked me as I walked, staring intently at me.

This was not going to be fun.


	88. Chapter 88

86 Tom's POV

"Hey Thomas, I was wondering, how long do you think it's going to be before your home? We're kinda desperate over here." I asked, hating that I was having to rush Thomas like this. But we didn't have a choice, we didn't know what was happening to Harry right now, we needed him home, this was not getting him home! This was... this was leaving him to untold amounts of suffering and I _couldn't_ do that to him. If not for him, but for Dougie too, the poor boy looked like a ghost, he hardly spoke or ate, I felt like we were losing him. I couldn't lose a friend, let alone _two_ because of this...

"Sad to say it's going to be at least a week mate. I'm stuck on this business trip and nothing short of a family emergency is going to drag me back." Thomas sighed, that wasn't helpful!

"This _is_ a family emergency!" what counted as an emergency if this wasn't?! Thomas' _brother_ was being held captive by his mental parents!

"A believable family emergency, don't forget I work for my Dad's company, if there was one, the whole company would know. So pulling that excuse doesn't work because everybody knows everything." Thomas grumbled.

"Fine, well have you heard anything from your parents recently? Anything about Harry, or anything at all?" I asked, surely they'd keep their son informed... or maybe not, didn't they suspect Thomas had a hand in Harry's first escape?

"Nothing about Harry specifically. But they did mention a ball... oh _cr*p._ " Thomas swore, that wasn't good.

"What? Thomas what's happened?" I felt dread start pooling in my stomach again, if he was remembering something about the ball then it had to be something bad, right? It had to be bad, or at least not very good, oh God this wasn't going to end well!

No, breathe, calm. One of us had to be calm. If I wasn't, Dougie would read it on me and panic, I had to keep our boy calm, or at least close to it. Happy little one, happy life. Or at least not in danger of kamikaze solo rescue missions that would end in serious injury and less chance of finding our drummer.

"The ball, this isn't an annual one, this is a special one. Something that was only planned recently. The only times my parents do something like this out of their usual timings is for particular showing off reasons... they could be showing Harry off to the world, or sending him out to find a new partner." They were doing _what?!_

"WHAT?!" I couldn't, they were going to try and find Harry a new partner?! They couldn't... were they serious?! Did they think that Harry would just _forget_ Dougie that easily?! Like finding him a new man would 'fix' him into their perfect son mould!? Where they _mental?!_

"Ugh, it's a parent thing. Once all of us reached sixteen they held a ball for each of us, in an almost 'check out the merchandise' type way. We were expected to at least make connections with people there; possibly find someone to want to date. I wouldn't be surprised if this new ball is a chance to re-debut Harry into posh land again and try to get him with someone new." Thomas groaned, I heard him his head with his hand.

"Someone new to make him forget Dougie?" I whispered, scared that our boy would hear. It would break him, it would utterly break him.

"Most likely. But he won't go for it, Harry's not stupid. He may play pretend, but he won't actually go through with it. Dad'll be p*ssed at him for it, but he won't go through with any of this nonsense. Dougie's safe as Harry's, don't worry about that." Thomas promised, I still didn't like the sound of that promise if I was honest.

"But what can we do to stop them?! Can you do anything?" Surely Thomas had _some_ sort of sway over his parents, right? He was their favoured son after all!

"Not from here, and knowing the mood Dad is in, not by much. Look, I'll be back next week and I'll talk with them then, for now just... sit tight. Harry won't cheat on Dougie; he loves that boy too much." Thomas insisted, I _hated_ the phrase 'sit tight' and anything else that meant the same thing.

"What do I tell Doug?" I couldn't keep this from him, I simply couldn't. But at the same time, this would break his heart...

"Tell him... Tell him the truth. He deserves to know. I'll phone back tonight and explain everything and give him reassurances. But tell him, so he's prepared." Thomas sighed, "I'm really sorry mate."

"I know, I'm really sorry I have to put you in this position, I didn't want to put you between your parents and Harry like this." I really hadn't, but we were desperate, what else could we do?

"It's okay. Someone needed to tell them to get their heads out of their arses someday anyway. May as well be me." Thomas sighed again, "Look, I've got to go before it get suspicious. I'll phone back after work tonight, bye."

The phone line went dead, leaving me to take a deep breath, and brace myself to tell Dougie the news. I would never get over the guilt of breaking his heart.


	89. Chapter 89

87 Harry's POV

My heart pounded as I stepped off the stairs and into the room, all eyes still fixed on me, refusing to look anywhere else. It was disturbing, more so than anything else I had ever experienced. I should have been used to it after being in a band for so long, especially with our recent press run, but this was something else. The eyes were judging more than first expected, scrutinising every single bit of me, seeing if I fit in their mould of 'perfect, respectable son' or if there was a hint of the 'old me' still in there. And I couldn't even fight against it, dreading what Dad would do to me if I dared put a foot wrong in this.

"My look how you have grown Harry! Much better sight than last time I saw you!" Some forty year old smiled, the rooms eyes still staring, though a slow murmur of chatter started, all of it centred around me.

"Well he certainly scrubbed up well again."

"Wonder if he still has that rebellious attitude."

"At least those horrid little boys he was associating with aren't here."

I grit my teeth and managed to smile as politely as I could when Mum squeezed my arm, a silent _be polite_ warning.

"We have worked hard on him, but as you can see, our son is back to how he should be!" Mum praised.

"Wonderful news, it was awful, seeing him with those boys, such a waste of potential! And who knew what kind of trouble they would get him into! You did the right thing getting him out, you probably saved him from a life time of hooliganism." The woman was talking like I wasn't even there, like I couldn't hear her insult my friends like that. Who did she think she was, saying those rude things about my boys? They were my _friends,_ acting like they were the worst human beings on the planet was _not_ going to warm me to her!

But it wasn't just her; it was _everyone_ at this party. Every single person we spoke to acted like I wasn't there, or blatantly spoke about my friends as if there were mass murdering criminals, that by basically kidnapping me my parents had saved my life. They hadn't saved my life, they were trying to _destroy_ it, and destroy me in the process. I hated every second of this damn party, and every single person in it. They were all morons and so far up their own arses it was surprising that they could still talk.

"If you will excuse us, I think it's time I showed Harry to some of the eligible people here tonight, there are quite a few keen ones ready to get to know him." Dad come in, politely dragging me away, though his grip on my arm was anything but pleasant.

He yanked me out of the room, into the quiet corridor before halting on path, pulling me round to face him, steel in his eyes and voice as he spoke.

"Now you are going to meet some people who actually _want_ to take a chance with you. You are going to be kind, polite and attentive to them all. If you don't like some of them, then that is fine, but if you do not find at least _one_ person you want to see again after this party then you will be in for one hell of a rough time, is that clear?" he hissed.

"Crystal." I glared back at him, refusing to let him see that I was scared of this moment. I didn't want to meet these people, didn't want to be a part of this. I wanted to go home and curl up with Dougie, hug him and kiss him, show him all of my love. I didn't want to court some random person I had grown up with, who I couldn't stand the sight of, just to stop my Dad from beating the living daylights out of me.

But what choice did I have? I didn't have one, I could possibly get away with not liking any of these people, but then Dad would hurt me and probably hold another ball to find me someone, if not pick someone at random and force me with them! He wasn't going to let this go, wasn't going to stop until I 'forgot' my Dougie, and if I didn't do that, he was going to hurt _him._ My Dad could do what he liked to me, but he couldn't ever hurt Dougie, not my precious boy. I had to go through with this, even though I knew it would end in Dougie being hurt.

"Good. And remember what I said, I will hurt that precious little vermin boy if you don't do as I say." Dad hissed and threw me into the room, surrounding me with men and women my age.

I hated every single one of them.


	90. Chapter 90

**indigosky17 - you shall soon see if and how Harry gets out ;) And thank you so much, it means a lot to me!**

88 Dougie's POV

"I'm sorry Dougie, I'm so sorry." Tom whispered after he explained his conversation with Thomas to me. At the news my heart felt like it shattered in my chest, my world crumbling with it. Harry's parents were trying to make him forget me; they were trying to get rid of me completely...

"Harry... Harry... He... They're trying to..." I couldn't breathe, I couldn't, I couldn't breathe. Harry was going to be paired off with someone else; they were going to pair him off with someone who wasn't me. They, they were making him forget me!

"It won't work Doug, they're not going to get anywhere with him, don't worry." Tom promised, reaching out to touch me.

"No! Don't touch me! Don't touch me! They're taking him away from me! They're taking my Harry away from me!" I pulled away, wanting to crawl in a hole and _die_ at the idea.

"They're _trying,_ but it's not going to work, Harry's not stupid Doug, he won't ever go through with it." Tom tried again, but I couldn't listen to him.

"They're trying to take him from me! They're making him forget me! They can't... They're taking him from me!" I fell to my knees, sobbing hysterically, "They can't do this! They can't do this to me. Don't make them do this to me!"

I didn't want to be alone, I couldn't be alone anymore! I needed Harry, I needed him home and with me. I needed him to love me, he couldn't not love me. He was _everything_ to me! Why couldn't we be together?! Why? What was so wrong with us being together?! Why must his parents insist on trying to split us apart in any way they could?!

"Dougie, Dougie no. Don't cry over this, because crying over this will not solve anything. You know what will? Thomas coming home and us getting Harry out ourselves. In the mean time, we have to let his parents do what they have to, because it's not going to work. Harry is stronger than they can ever imagine, he will not back down and he will _never_ forget you. He loves you too much, alright? Harry won't ever forget who you are, and how much he loves you. He could be paired with the most beautiful man in the world, given all the riches he could ever hope for, and he would still love _you_ more. You have _nothing_ to fear here." Tom made me look at him, staring into my eyes with all the seriousness he could muster

"But, but they're trying to make him _forget._ " I cried, they were trying to make my boy forget me. They were trying to make him forget who I was. They couldn't do that! It wasn't... they couldn't pretend that I had never existed, make Harry forget who I was! But they were trying! They hated me so much they wanted to make Harry forget me completely.

"Well that's not going to work because Harry adores you and isn't about to give up on you either. He's stronger than that, _you_ are stronger than that. And his parents have made one fatal mistake too." Tom tried to smile a bit.

"What?" I sniffed.

"They think that you're _forgettable,_ they think that you're so insignificant and easily forgotten to Harry. And _Harry_ is going to know that, so you know what he's going to do, because he's just that stubborn?" Tom asked, gaining a bit of confidence. I shook my head in response.

"He's going to _fight_ them, every single step. He is going to fight them, and he will _never_ forget you. Hell, I doubt he'll even go through with _finding_ someone else to even cover himself here. He loves you so much he wouldn't cheat, even under these circumstances. Harry is a fighter; he won't ever let them do this to you." Tom promised, wiping away tears, "Also, we're going to prove them wrong ourselves. Once Thomas gets back, and we have some insider knowledge, we are going to get our boy back out of there. Then we're going to _run,_ or do whatever we have to do to keep him safe and with us. We are going to prove to those snotty, nasty, terrible parents of Harry's that _you_ are worthy of their son, that you are not forgettable, that you are a _brilliant_ human being. They may not like it, but damn it by the end of this they will know that you are a force to be reckoned with, that all of us are. So there is no need to be upset, because we are going to prove them wrong. We are going to prove every single person in that house wrong, and we're going to get Harry back, and I swear we will get the two of you surgically attached if we have to, got it?"

"Yeah." I nodded weakly, still feeling like my heart had been torn out, but now I was _angry._

How _dare_ Harry's parents try to take my boyfriend away from my like this, how _dare_ they think that Harry could forget me that easily. I was going to show them, we were all going to show them. Once Thomas got back, we were getting Harry out of that hell hole for once and for all. And damn it if his parents dared to get him again then they would be sorry!

Harry was _mine_ and I was going to fight for him!


	91. Chapter 91

**McFly were amazing last night! It was great seeing them back as a foursome again! Though I still feel like I'm living in a dream right now!**

89 Harry's POV

Every single person I talked to in that room was vapid and downright _boring,_ or stuck up, or just plain _rude._ Out of all twenty people in that one room, not one of them was remotely nice. That isn't to say that some didn't _try_ to be nice, but they weren't exactly managing it. I could tell that all of them looked down on me for joining a band, that they saw me as unworthy, that this was a complete chore to be even interacting with me.

Dad wanted me to choose someone from _this_ lot? He actually wanted me to be with someone who thought that I wasn't worthy of them, simply because of a few life choices? Well f*ck that, he wasn't going to get me to do it; I wasn't going with any of these people. I would have to come up with an excuse for it, but I was not going to go with one of these people. It would be doing everyone a favour really, they didn't want to be here with me, I didn't want to be here with them, I was saving everybody from having to pretend to like each other. I just had to hope that that wouldn't make Dad decide that Dougie needed punishing for my actions...

Maybe if I made out that these people didn't share a common interest with me, or that none of them seemed keen on me and it wouldn't be fair to pursue someone who wasn't interested, that could work in my favour. It wasn't like I hadn't been perfectly nice all night, or like I had put a foot wrong in talking to anybody here. I couldn't be blamed if the other person wasn't keen, and I was sure they would all agree to that. I just had to hope that they wouldn't say it was because of my past, Dad wouldn't take that well. And if Dad didn't take something well, then Dougie was going to pay the price for it. How I didn't know, but I didn't exactly what to find out.

"Which of those available did you like best?" Mum asked after everybody left that night. It was gone 2am, and I was exhausted from keeping that mask up for so long. It wasn't exactly easy being nice and civil to all those people, especially when it was clear that they hated me.

"I, I didn't mind Jacob that much, but I don't think he's interested." I lied, Jacob had been a snob, and had called my band a _silly waste of time and a terrible mistake_ in conversation. But at least he had liked a bit of sport. Tennis though, which was alright, but it was no cricket.

"Oh really? Why not?" Dad narrowed his eyes; oh I was going to have to tread carefully here.

"He, erm, he just... He didn't seem that interested, you know? I think he has an eye on James." I had picked up on the looks shared between the two, and overheard someone else talking about them. That was a good excuse right? It had to be a good excuse! I had supposedly found someone; I couldn't help it if that person didn't feel the same way! Dougie couldn't be hurt if I said that, right?!

"Oh I did hear that too. Their mothers are getting quite excited over the prospect." Mum backed me up, _thank God._ Though why bring those two to meet me if it was already known that they were heading towards becoming a couple?! Oh no, what if it was a trap?! Was this a trap to see if I said something like this, sh*t, sh*t, oh sh*t!

"Fine. Anybody else there you liked?" Dad growled, he looked like he only half bought it. I may be in luck this time but I wasn't going to get out of this for much longer. It was clear that another party would be thrown, and I would have to find someone then, because I couldn't make excuses every time without endangering Dougie...

"N-No, I'm afraid not. They were nice and everything. But, but there was no shared interest you see. What would we talk about if we have no shared interests?" I forced every muscle in my body to relax, so I didn't look tense, or like I was about to bolt for the hills.

"He does have a point there." Mum agreed, sometimes I could like her. She could come in handy back up some days.

"Alright, we will just have to hold another ball and find some more people for you to talk to. I won't let you go on much longer without someone, this ridiculousness needs to end." Dad stormed away, I breathed a sigh of relief. For tonight, I was safe. I had made it through tonight and not put my lover in danger, and hadn't done anything to upset him. Now I just had to figure out a way to get out of here before another ball could be held...


	92. Chapter 92

90 LOCAL NEWSPAPER, NO POV

 _Judd's Latest Party Surprise!_

 _Last night, the Judd family hosted another one of their famous parties, where only the most powerful families in the area are invited. Usually these lavish affairs go by without much more happening than a few lucrative business deals._

 _But this time, they revealed a fantastic surprise - the return of their youngest son Harry. The twenty one year old has spent the last four years the drummer in the pop band McFly, racking up several number ones and going on several world tours. Because of this, he hasn't been seen at out of his family's parties or a while, but yesterday he made an appearance._

 _Harry was the centre of attention at the latest party, meeting and greeting the guests, and looked like he was on the lookout for a new lover. Harry recently came out as gay, and has told the press that he is in a relationship, but maybe this broke up thanks to the pressure of coming out. It looked like he was trying to find a new person to settle down with._

 _Whatever he was doing, it looked like he was having fun. It was great to see the entire Judd family reunited again, and we wish Harry all the best with finding a new partner._


	93. Chapter 93

**Well, tour is over, which sucks, but hopefully that means we'll be getting a new album soon! Or at least a tour dvd, or something!**

 **Also, quick note - from now on I'm updating on Monday, Wednesday and Friday's, sorry for the confusion, it's just the days when I'm not at uni!**

91 Danny's POV

Dougie got a new lease of life in him once Tom had given him a pep talk, he was still very lonely and down, but there was a renewed sense of purpose about him now. He started coming up with ideas as to how we could fix this, counting down the days until Thomas got home so we could work with him, and doing everything in his power to _not_ think about what was going on with Harry right now.

We didn't dare ask him about how he was coping with this whole 'match making' thing Harry's parents were forcing on our drummer, knowing it would only really upset him to talk about it. He'd been so upset when he found out about it, I dreaded to think what was actually going on in his head. That was probably why he was in planning mode, to get Harry out before this went too far, and to distract himself from thinking of Harry leaving him.

"Anything I can do to help?" I asked, sitting next to our little one on the floor.

"No, I'm good for the moment." Dougie answered, chewing on his pen lid.

"Wanna talk about anything?" I wasn't strictly asking if he was okay with what was going on at Judd manor, but I was still asking about how he was. I couldn't help it, I was worried about our little one, he was so closed off at the moment. Dougie was always quiet, but this was a new level of silence, and I didn't like it.

"It's fine, I've got things under control here." Dougie shook his head, scribbling another note on his piece of paper.

"Okay, got any good plans cooking?" I wondered if I could get him to open up about that.

"Not sure if they're good or not at the moment, I need Thomas to figure that out." Dougie answered, which was the most he'd spoken all day.

"Well he's arriving tomorrow, so you can talk to him then." I replied, I was sure that Thomas was coming home tomorrow. I'd heard Tom say something about it yesterday.

"He is, but he's going back to his parents first, as they've requested that he come down for the day to brag about his most recent achievements." Dougie rolled his eyes at the idea, "But that means when he gets here he can tell us more about how Harry is. So that's a good thing, also he can scope out the security levels and what exactly is all there too, which will help with plans."

"True. Think he'll end up having to stay for longer?" I asked, Dougie knew Thomas more, and had heard more about how his and Harry's family worked, thanks to being close to the brothers. Of course me and Tom had heard stuff, Harry had told us a lot, but Dougie generally knew more than anyone.

"Don't think so, any sibling usually only stays for a day so everyone can catch up and brag and all that sh*t before they go back to work. Thomas obviously has a day off to come to us, but he told his parents that he's going to be catching up on sleep and readjusting his body clock so he's ready for work the next day. His parents are okay with that and believe him, and want him to get a full nights rest so are letting him go home, because his house is closer to his office than the manor is." Dougie answered, almost like he was reading the information off a page. How many times had he read that text from Thomas explaining that? I dreaded to think.

"Great, so just two more days before we can talk to him, it's getting closer." I encouraged him, nudging him with my shoulder.

"Yeah, the closer Thomas is to coming home, the closer it is to Harry coming home. Now I have a few ideas for how to do this, but I doubt any will work. We'll have to figure it out with him later, to see if his parents are stupid enough to believe any of these plans." Dougie sighed, then paused, "I hate this Danny. I hate not knowing what's going on, having to wait for Thomas and desperately trying to figure something out to save Harry."

"I know, we all do kiddo. But, I guess it's just one of those things, if you think about it, it was almost inevitable." It really was, when thinking about it. Harry's parents were almost bound to come in and try and snatch our boy from us at some point, they had never been happy with us, and never been happy with Harry's choices. So it was almost a guarantee that he'd eventually get taken from us, or that they'd at least try to change his mind. It just happened a bit earlier than we were expecting. What could we do about it? Nothing really. We just, we just had to get through it. Wait for Thomas, figure something out with him, and get Harry out. Even though it sounded mental and ridiculous, there was nothing much we could do about it. We just had to grin and bear it.

We'd get Harry out eventually. We had to. It was the protecting him for the rest of his life from his parents that I was worried about.


	94. Chapter 94

92 Harry's POV

"Thomas, how are you?" Mum fussed over Thomas the second he walked into the house, wrapping him in a tight hug.

"Bit jet lagged, but can't complain really. And how are you?" Thomas replied, eyes clocking onto me while Mum hugged him. I gave him the best _help me_ smile I could, needing him to get me out of here. Or at least a message to Dougie and the boys. I couldn't get out, but he could, he could contact the boys for me, I needed his help ASAP.

"Very well dear, we have been keeping busy with Harry recently; we had another ball to help him find a partner..." Mum went into explaining everything that had happened, without actually saying anything about what was really happening. She completely left out the fact that I was a prisoner in this house, and that Dad had turned abusive and was threatening Dougie's life. In fact, she didn't even mention him, Tom or Danny. There wasn't even a mention, like not mentioning my friends would make me forget them. _Idiot._

"Sounds very exciting! It's good to see you again Harry, we missed you around here." Thomas smiled, giving me a hug too.

I wanted to whisper in his ear but I couldn't, Mum was giving me eagle eyes, and Dad wasn't far behind her. We were being watched, and very closely. One mistimed whisper and that was it for us. I was half surprised that we were even allowed to be this close to each other right now, but I wasn't going to knock it, wouldn't ever knock it if it got me out of here somehow.

"I missed you too." I answered instead, taking a minute to enjoy being hugged by someone who _cared_ about me. I wasn't used to it anymore, I wanted to be held so badly by someone who cared, to finally get it was magical.

"Thomas you must tell us all about your business trip! I'm sure there's lots to tell." Mum pulled us apart.

"Oh yes, well, where to start? The stocks in the company are doing well, though you probably already know that, but it doesn't hurt to mention it again..." Thomas got talking about the business trip as we ate dinner, which was altogether pleasant until Thomas finished his round up.

"Sounds very productive son, and very satisfying. Maybe Harry can learn a thing or two from you about working hard." Dad shot me a glare, what the hell did I do to deserve that exactly?!

"Er, I wouldn't say that, being in a-" Thomas started to defend me.

"Don't say it. All talk of that _mistake_ is not to be mentioned in this house." Dad cut him off, voice holding no room for argument.

Thomas looked shocked for a few seconds, but recovered fast, "Fair enough. But I still think Harry knows how to work hard, that... mistake must have been hard work at times. Especially with that recent coming out business."

"That was completely his own doing." Dad hissed at me, "Doesn't mean he knows the meaning of actually working for a living. From what I heard he lay about all day and didn't do anything worthwhile for four years." He continued.

I could have killed him for saying that to me, how dare he say that I hadn't worked hard in the band. I had worked hard; I had worked my _arse_ off in that band to get where we were! We had all worked our fingers to the _bone_ to be as good as possible, to write the best songs, the produce the albums right, put on the best tours we possibly could. There was no _lying about_ in McFly, we ran our band with military precision and didn't slack off, not even for a day. Even on days off we were working hard. How dare Dad even imply that I hadn't worked hard, that everything was so damn _easy_ while being in a band.

I held my tongue, and barely. Thomas was probably talking to the boys, or would be soon. I'd rather not let Dougie know that Dad was exercising his temper on me, or put him in danger for that matter. Thomas gave me another gobsmacked look, I couldn't even reply under Dad's angry gaze.

Dinner was eaten in silence after that, I didn't even look up from my plate, didn't see the point in even trying to have a normal conversation. Dad wasn't about to let me talk, not properly at any rate. Unless it was the magic words of 'of course Father, I will go to work for your company, find a nice man to settle down with and never, ever do something you don't approve of ever again' I wasn't talking to him. Or at least until I was spoken to first at any rate.

After dinner, Mum fawned all over Thomas again, her and Dad making pointed comments about how great their son was and how much I could learn from him. I endured it silently, seething underneath it all, wishing I could punch them both in the face for being so cruel. They were being deliberately nasty to me, making me feel bad because I wasn't Thomas. Well Thomas wasn't that perfect little son either. He was just a rebellious as me; he just hid it better than I did.

Eventually, I was allowed to bed, so I stormed upstairs, slamming my door closed and somehow wishing Thomas could get me out again. I wanted to get out of here right now, I had had enough. Enough of the judging, the comments about my band, the pushing of another relationship, and the utter disregard for my happiness. I wanted to go home, this wasn't home. This was hell. And currently there didn't seem to be a decent way out. I doubted there ever would be, if my parent's actions were anything to go by.


	95. Chapter 95

93 Dougie's POV

I bit at my nails all morning waiting for Thomas to arrive, what was taking him so long? Was he stuck at the house with Harry now? Did his parents do something to him? But they didn't know he helped Harry escape, they didn't know... surely they didn't know!? Oh God what if they did and now his parents had him he was our only hope to get Harry out and if they had him we couldn't use him at all and then Harry was stuck at the house with no-one to help him oh God this wasn't good this wasn't good.

"Dougie, Dougie, whoa, calm down! It's okay, it's going to be okay. Thomas told me he would be here by one this afternoon, it's only eleven in the morning. He's going to get here." Tom broke my thoughts, squeezing my shoulders for encouragement.

"What if he's not though? What if his parents have him too?" I whispered, so scared, so very, very scared.

"They don't. They trust Thomas, and if they did suspect he helped Harry escape, I'm sure they wouldn't have let him in the house again. But he texted last night, said he'd been in and scoped things out. He's going to be here, okay? I promise he'll be here." Tom made me look him in the eyes, so he knew I wasn't lying.

"Yeah, Thomas isn't going to be taken too. He's driving down now; it just takes a while to get here from the mansion." Danny slung his arm around my shoulders.

"If, if you say so." They were thinking more clearly than I was. Yet I couldn't help but worried, what if Thomas didn't make it? What would we do if Thomas was also out of action? That would leave Katherine, but if their parents had figured out Thomas had helped, then they would definitely know about Katherine...

"I do, Thomas will get here. And he'll help us get Harry out." Tom smiled; I could only hope he was right.

Thomas ended up being half an hour late, thanks to traffic, which had given me enough time to work myself into an incredibly panicked state.

"How is Harry can we get him out is he at all safe did you talk to him is he okay!?" I blurted without breathing the second he stepped out of his car.

"Slow down little guy, let me get out the car before you start with the questions!" Thomas was acting like he was okay, but there was worry in his eyes, I could see it clear as day. My insides dropped to the floor in dread.

"Harry's not okay, is he?" I whispered, not wanting to know, but I _had_ to know. I had to know what was going on, had to know if everything was okay. What if it wasn't? What if Harry was in grave danger?

What if Harry had found someone else to date? Or had been forced into dating someone else?

"He's... He's been better, put it that way." Thomas sighed, "Can we take this inside? I'd rather talk about this inside."

I yanked him into the house in my haste, pulling him to the front room and waiting for his explanation to start. I couldn't stand not knowing, I had to know what was going on right this instant, waiting was torture, I had to know how my boy was doing. I needed to know if he was hurt, or scared, or in trouble. I had to know _right this instant._

"First things first, is Harry okay?" Tom sat down opposite the man, holding mine and Danny's hands in his own.

"Harry is, well he's alive, which is a start," That was _never_ a good sign, "But Dad has, Dad hasn't been kind. He's barely letting him talk or do anything. And I think, and I'm really sorry to tell you this, but I think Dad's been physically abusing him." Oh God, oh God, he couldn't. He _wouldn't,_ would he? He couldn't do that to Harry! He couldn't... He had been beating him?! My poor boy, my poor, poor boy!

Thomas explained everything, about the extra security around Harry, the locked doors, the lock down of the entire house, how subdued he was, and how he was being treated. My heart shattered as I listened, imagining all the horror Harry was going through. All because of me, because he loved me, this was happening. I couldn't... this was horrible, this was... I had no words. My poor boy was in so much trouble, and it was all because of me. I couldn't even begin to believe it.


	96. Chapter 96

**Guest - thank you so much! It means so much to me to hear that, thank you! I would give you the link to my master list, where I've posted other fics of mine, but I'm afraid that the website I used to post on has now been deleted, so all I have left is the stuff on here, and a short Pudd SA on AO3, would you like the link to that?**

94 Harry's POV

Somehow, I managed to feel _worse_ after Thomas' visit, probably thanks to my mother talking about how great he was all the time. I had honestly never heard her brag so much when it was just me with her, all because Thomas happened to be doing well for himself. Well good on him, I didn't care, I was doing bl**dy well for myself, until she came along and kidnapped me back here again. Right now I could have been helping the boys gear up for another album or something, instead of sitting here like a complete twat, listening to her talk about my _perfect_ older brother.

"Your sister is the same too, so ambitious. They're both excelling in their careers, you should really learn from them Harry, it will do you some good." Mum lectured, if she didn't stop, I was going to _scream._

"I _am_ ambitious, you just don't like where I'm pushing." I answered with a grumble, picking at my nails. Everything else was pristine, maybe I could allow _something_ to be messy, something nobody could fix straight away. I was half tempted to go mental and shave my head or something, but decided against it, I was fond of my hair, and I wasn't sure it would be worth Dad's reaction either.

"I would if it was something more worthwhile." Mum didn't even pause in... Whatever it was she was doing. I wasn't watching her, didn't even _care_ what she was doing, as long as it was nothing to do with me.

"Being in McFly is worthwhile to me. It's everything." She didn't understand, why could she _never_ understand? Mum hadn't understood anything about me for most of my life, when things got too confusing for her; she shook me off and left me to it. Hell she sent me to _boarding school_ when I was _eight_ because I proved to be too much of a pain for her to handle. I'd been a bit hyper, weren't most children?

"It may have been, but it was not good for you Harry. Those boys were leading you astray, and being in a band like that, it can... it's not exactly respectable or stable." Mum sighed, I grit my teeth. F*ck respectable, f*ck all of that bullsh*t, who cared about respectable when I was happy?! And if nobody was getting hurt, that actually we were bringing happiness to others, why the _hell_ should it matter exactly?!

"Being respectable isn't everything you know. There's more to life than keeping up appearances, so much more." I knew there was, I had been living it for four years.

"Like what exactly?" Mum raised her eyebrow, I couldn't see it, but I knew it was raised. It always was when I said something like this.

"Happiness, to start with. Making others happy. Having friends who are like you and don't try to change who are you, being loved and loving that person in return." I turned to look at her, she was listening, maybe I could get her to see the light in all this...

"We are trying to find you someone to love, and there's nothing to stop you from finding other friends." Mum showed no sign of caving.

"There's one big thing standing in my way." I pointed to the guard by the door, he wasn't exactly leaving me alone right now, and I didn't think he would any time soon either.

"He is here for your protection." Mum started.

"Protection from _happiness_ and who I want to be!" I cut her off, standing up, the guard tensed like he was ready to grab me. Like I was going to do something rash here. I was only going to argue, I was angry, but I wasn't angry enough to hurt my own mother for God's sake!

"Who you want to be Harry is not who you are going to be, I refuse to allow you to be that person! I will not allow my youngest son to become a delinquent or a drug addict or anything else musicians become! I will not allow you to be taken in by those boys you called friends and have them take everything from you!" Mum stood too, voice rising.

"You honestly think that they want me for my money?! F*ck sake Mum, we're in a band, we make enough money without them taking whatever this family has! And no-one in this band has a drug problem, we don't do that type of sh*t! We're not delinquents; we never go out clubbing, or cause trouble in hotel rooms, or anything like that! If you paid attention to us, you'd know that we spend most of our time inside, together, writing songs and planning our new albums and tours! You're listening to stereotype, not what is actually happening! Why can't you listen to what we are _actually_ saying for once?!" I couldn't believe she still was going down this line of argument! We weren't horrible boys, we didn't do anything wrong! She couldn't protect me like this forever! I wasn't to be protected like this!

"Harry! You do not swear in this house and you will listen to me! I am your mother, and you will not disrespect me by arguing!" Mum looked so offended that I had dared to _swear._ If only she _knew_ what was going on in my head all the time, she would be scandalised.

"Why should I listen to you when you won't listen to me?! Why should I respect you when you don't respect me and my choices? I've had enough of this; I've had enough of you! Why can't you just leave me alone?!" I shouted, not understanding why she couldn't just let me do what I wanted! I was a human being, I was an adult, I could make my own choices. Why couldn't she respect them for _five_ damn minutes?!


	97. Chapter 97

**Indigosky17 - thank you so much! It means a lot to hear that! And Harry seriously needs to watch his tongue, or things are going to be very bad for him!**

95 Dougie's POV

"Tell me about the security in the house." I wanted to know about it, I wanted to know everything. I got Harry into this mess; I _had_ to get him back out again. I couldn't leave him, or let Fletch try and talk his way out of it with the police. They'd been trying for weeks, and were looking in all the wrong places. They had the evidence right in front of them, and they were purposefully ignoring it. That meant we had to get involved and take over.

"Well you have the standard stuff from before, with alarms and guards dotted strategically around the house. But now on top of that, there are bars on the windows, so getting in and out of those is impossible. There's a guard outside Harry's bedroom door at night, so he can't get out without somebody noticing, then he has a guard on him all day too. That one follows him everywhere and makes sure that he doesn't try anything. Guards are also stationed around the gate, and while we got past them before, there's no way they'll let us past again. And then on top of that, Mum and Dad do not trust me or Katherine at all. I think that they suspect we helped Harry out last time, so they're not taking any chances with us; I barely had two seconds to myself, and certainly wasn't allowed to be alone with Harry for even a second. All of which makes this a very, very hard escape to plan." Thomas explained, _Jesus,_ how the hell were we going to get Harry out?!

"Are there any holes in the system?" Tom asked, hugging a knee to his chest.

"Not from what I can tell. And if I know my brother well, if he had found a hole, he would have used it and been back here by now. If Harry hasn't found anything, there isn't anything." Thomas sighed.

"Well maybe he hasn't had the opportunity to make a move yet. Maybe he's been followed too closely by the guard." I was pulling at straws, but it made me feel better to do that than to do nothing.

"Possibly, but if he hasn't had a chance to get away from a guard yet, then he probably won't." Thomas chewed on his lip, "Didn't you say you had some ideas on how to get him out?"

"I did, but they all get knocked out the water thanks to the guards or the window bars." I had had so many plans, now they were all basically ruined thanks to all these extra measures.

"Sh*t." Thomas swore.

"So there's no way in or out without being detected? And no way to sneak past guards?" Danny bit at his nails, Tom let him.

"There's no way through. You'd need a miracle or something big to distract all the guards, something better than 'he's on the other side of the house' like last time." Thomas shook his head, looking like he wanted to cry. I felt like I wanted to cry, how were we supposed to get Harry out of there if we couldn't get to him? How were we supposed to reach him if he was so caught up in this that not even Thomas could speak to him alone?! We'd need his co-operation, and for him to know what we were doing so he was ready, we couldn't do that if we couldn't even pass a message along!

"We would need such a huge distraction, something that was so big nobody would notice that we were even there." Tom mumbled... that was an idea.

"What about sneaking into a ball?" I suggested, "There's a lot of people milling around, and if we disguise ourselves, we could possibly get in there and get him out without anybody noticing. Or at least get a message to him so he knows that we're trying to get him out."

"That... That might just work actually. You've seen one of our balls; they're a huge affair with about a hundred people milling about. Mum and Dad will be busy mingling, and if we put one of you in with the potential suitors, we could at the very least give Harry a message, if not sneak him out." Thomas leant forward, life coming back to his eyes.

"You really think that that could work?" I had just thrown it out there, hadn't thought that it had potential!

"If we are extremely careful. And I mean _extremely_ careful. There will be checks as to who you are supposed to be, guards will still be patrolling the area. But most will be inside the ball, keeping an eye on things. If we are clever about it though, we may get somewhere. It depends on a lot of things, if we plan it right, you may just be on to something Dougie." Thomas grinned, I couldn't believe it, we may have had a plan!


	98. Chapter 98

96 Harry's POV

I hissed as the in house doctor wiped an alcohol wipe over a cut on my cheek, gained by 'falling down the stairs' again. She'd been at it for twenty minutes now, checking me over for broken bones and such, luckily finding nothing by cuts and bruises, possibly one strained muscle too.

"Harry you have to be more careful, those stairs are going to be the death of you one day." She sighed, she knew exactly what had happened to me out there, she wasn't stupid. Even if she was, she would have _heard_ Dad's huge rant, and my cries of pain.

"Well you know how it is, if you aren't daring sometimes, you never get to do anything fun." I hoped she was following what I was saying, that I was going to keep on arguing whenever I could because I couldn't sit back and let this happen. I couldn't even talk to my own _brother_ in this house without supervision, let alone talk to my friends, leave these walls, or go anywhere without guards.

"Still though, you have to be careful, kid. Being daring is all well and good, but it's no good seriously injuring yourself trying to get there." The doctor sighed.

"Well maybe if do, _someone_ will pay attention and change their mind about how I'm allowed to live my life." I was glad Dad wasn't in the room to hear us say this. This doctor would get fired on the spot and I'd be in for yet another round of agony, and that was something I'd really rather avoid.

"I don't know if that'll work, the people in this house are very stuck in their ways. You were lucky enough to pursue you dreams in the first place, now that you've gone so out of their guidelines that I don't think you will ever get out of here." The doctor started wiping at another cut.

"You think so?" I really wished she hadn't said that.

"Yeah, I'm sorry, but I don't think you will change their minds at all. I've been here for a while, and I have never come across a more stubborn pair in my life. If you think you can get out, I'd go for it, but I don't think you're going to manage to change their minds." She apologised, sticking plasters in various places, wherever they were needed.

"Sh*t." I swore, if our live in doctor didn't think I was going to get anywhere, then what hope did I have?

"Sorry Harry. I don't know what else I can say. I can't talk to them, they won't listen to me. And I don't know who else could change their minds, there's not much I can think of to help you. It's a difficult situation. Were they like this when you were younger?" She handed me back my shirt.

"No, never. Sure, they got angry with me sometimes, and nearly hit the roof when I told them I wanted to join a band. But other than that, they've never been like this at all." I couldn't remember a single instance of where something like this happened. My childhood had been pretty damn happy; Dad hadn't lashed out once or anything. I had been listened to as well, and had been spoken to like I was loved and cared for. This was all, this was all just _wrong._

"So all of this has been happening thanks to your dating choices?" She asked, I nodded.

"Yep. I don't suppose you could tell the police yourself or something?" I asked, if I couldn't do anything, but maybe she could?

"I don't think so I'm afraid. You need definitive proof to get immediate arrest, or you'll just get the police coming round to investigate and your parents will hide everything. That'll end badly for the both of us if they find out it was me who reported them." She shook her head.

"Bugger. Worth asking though." I sighed, buttoning up the shirt and tucking it in. It was better to tuck it in and look smart so Dad didn't go mental again. I knew when to pick my battles.

"It was. But if you need anything Harry, anything at all, I'm here, alright? You're not alone, I'm here." She smiled, stroking part of my fringe out of my face.

"Thank you, that means a lot." I really was grateful for her, if I couldn't have my parents on my side; it was nice to have someone else there.


	99. Chapter 99

97 Dougie's POV

"I'm going to have to stake out the house again during a party and then I'll report back to you about it. But so far, that doesn't sound like a too bad an idea. I don't know if I'll manage to get a message to Harry so he knows that we're coming for him or not, but it could work." Thomas bit his lip, having sketched out the house floor plan and pointed out where he reckoned security guards would be stationed.

"If you can't, do you think Katherine could get a message through?" I asked, because we did have access to Katherine too, she was on our side, she could help us...

"Possibly. But if my parents don't trust me alone with Harry, they probably won't trust Katherine either. Don't forget, she was the one who drove out of the house with Harry in the boot. She lied and told our parents that she was searching the surrounding area, but that was flimsy at best. They probably suspect something about her too." Thomas answered, twiddling his own car keys.

"I'm slightly surprised you two didn't get questioned more than you did if I'm honest. If Harry's under so much scrutiny it's surprising you haven't had the same." Tom pointed out, which was a point. Why hadn't the older Judd siblings been questioned that much?

"It's because we haven't put a foot wrong in our parent's eyes before. Harry was always the rebellious one, he was the one who messed about in class, who never dressed how they wanted him to, and obviously left school early to join you guys. He's always been that way, and as a consequence, has given our parents reason to distrust him. Whereas me and Katherine played the game and kept all of our rebellion quiet." Thomas explained, fair enough I guess. Harry never had been one for hiding who he was, or for any rule he didn't like either.

"Oh really, how the hell did you manage that?" under strict parents like that, I didn't think it would have been that easy to hide anything.

"Having a lot of trusted friends who covered for us. According to my parents, I got my first girlfriend three years after I _actually_ did, and Katherine has a tattoo that they will never find out about. We played the game and found ways around it; Harry steamrollered through on his own agenda, hence the differences in trust between us and him." Thomas sighed, "Anyway, that's not the point. We have to be careful in talking to Harry, if we let out too much, our parents will stop the plan. And considering all of us are on shaky ground, we need to somehow get the message out without being detected."

"How the hell are we supposed to do that?" Danny asked around the fingers in his mouth, chewing his nails even further. Tom wasn't even trying to stop him this time.

"I have no idea. Leave that to me, you guys have sorted out enough so far. Leave the rest up to me. I'll figure something out." Thomas started to get up.

"Wait, where are you going?" he couldn't leave now, we were getting somewhere!

"I'm going to have to go now, I do have work in the morning and I can't be late. I'm supposed to be sleeping off jet lag as it is; I've got to keep my cover as solid as possible in case Mum or Dad checks. You guys start thinking of disguises to hide what you look like, for the party, I'll handle getting the message to Harry and getting you guys invited. I'll phone you tomorrow." Thomas collected his coat, sh*t he couldn't go _now!_

"But when do you think that party will be?" we didn't know when we had to be ready for, or how much longer Harry had to be alone!

"I don't know. It won't be the next one, because I'll need that to scope out the security issues. I'll talk to my parents, or get Katherine to ask. I'll let you know as soon as possible. Sorry I can't be more of use on that front. My parents have changed their usual dates so I don't know when the next two will be. Should be soon though, if that helps." Thomas sighed, "I will get back to you though, work on disguises, I'll work the party and the message front." With that Thomas left, leaving us with a flimsy idea to work on and nothing else. _F*ck._


	100. Chapter 100

98 Harry's POV

I stayed up in my room after the doctor was done with me, preferring to stay out of the way of my parents, and basically everyone in this house. There was only one person in this house who cared about me, and I really did not feel like going anywhere near anyone else right now, possibly ever actually. If I was just going to get moaned at and beaten for every move I made, then I wasn't going to go out there. I was only going out if I was going home, or possibly if Thomas or Katherine came over, at least _they_ would be nice to me... if they got to actually talk to me alone.

"Harry, come downstairs." Mum knocked on my door.

"I'm good." I answered, not bothering to move. Unless Dougie Lee Poynter was outside that door, waiting for me with open arms, then I wasn't leaving this room.

"You cannot hide upstairs forever, it isn't good for you." Mum insisted, I rolled my eyes.

"Dad beating seven bells of sh*t out of me isn't good for me, I think staying upstairs is safer." I answered, kicking my legs up on the bed, with shoes on. F*ck it. It was my room.

"Harry you shouldn't say things like that about your father!" Mum told me, I nearly snorted in the ridiculousness.

"Well _he_ shouldn't do anything like that to _me!_ I thought he _broke my arm_ today, and you want me to _respect_ him?" I couldn't believe what I was hearing; Mum wanted me to only speak nice words about my father when he abused me like this? Sod off!

"Well you _do_ provoke him dear, maybe if you didn't, you wouldn't be in this situation." Mum say _what_ now?

"Seriously?! Why don't you just throw me to the f*cking wolves then?! I'm your son; protect me for once in your life!" I shouted back, wasn't that a mother's job, to protect her children?! Where was her mothering instinct now? Where was her protection and her love? Why wasn't she stopping this?!

"I _am_ protecting you! That is why you are here in the first place, we are not throwing you to the wolves, we are preparing you for the world." Mum answered, she really could not be that deluded. Really. Really. Could not be that deluded.

"I was happily coping with the world before you kidnapped me! I was _happy_ in my _band_ with my _boyfriend_ and my _best friends._ I was travelling the world, creating music and making people happy with that music! And what am I doing here, apart from being Dad's punch bag? Nothing, that's what! You're screwing up my life!" I shouted, refusing to open the door or anything. Dad was out, I had a slightly safe space, if I opened that door, then that would go away. And Mum would win, Mum was _not_ winning this battle, I would not make it seem like I was agreeing with her.

"I am doing what is best for you Harry, nothing more. If you cannot see that, then that is your fault." Mum's footsteps went down the hall, leaving me alone.

I fell onto the bed again, groaning into a pillow, hating this. Why couldn't we have some peace? Why couldn't Mum just _stop_ this and let me go? Couldn't she see that this was causing more harm than good? One of these days, I was scared that Dad would kill me.

Oh God, would the boys ever know if I died? If Dad killed me, would he even bother to tell the boys that I was dead? Oh f*ck, they would never know. They would never know, unless Thomas or Katherine told them.

Dougie wouldn't cope with that news; he wouldn't know what to do with himself. I, I had been with him for so long, I had taken over as his father figure from the day he moved in, he wouldn't... what would he do if I had died? Tom and Danny would take care of him of course, and his Mum would bring him back to her house, but what would he do? I wasn't being big headed, but I looked after Dougie so much, I didn't know how he'd cope. He couldn't...

What would Dougie do if Dad killed me?


	101. Chapter 101

99 Tom's POV

Thomas was quiet for a while, though we did get a quick text from Katherine. It read 'if you need anything from me, just say the word,' which was quite reassuring if I was honest. It was nice to know that we had two Judd siblings in our corner and willing to help us, compared to everybody else who was willing to stop Harry from escaping.

"So Thomas said we need disguises, what do you think we'll need?" I asked Danny and Dougie, wanting to do _something._ I couldn't just sit here; it was ridiculous to try and sit here and do nothing. Thomas had given us a job to do, we had to do it, or we would be letting Harry down.

"Erm, posh clothes?" Danny guessed, still chewing on his nails. He'd made his finger bleed yesterday.

"Wigs, glasses, possibly facial hair too, to hide our faces." Dougie continued, scribbling this all down.

"Posh voices." Danny answered, leaning forward in concentration.

"Different names." I joined in, the three of us starting to create an extensive list of things we needed to sneak into Judd Manor. Who would have thought we would have been planning something like this, just to get Harry out? It was ridiculous, and something I never imagined happening.

We were actually planning how to rescue Harry by using disguises and trying to sneak past his parents to rescue him. This was actually happening... my God this was insane.

It sounded good though, like it could actually plausibly work, which was better than our previous plans. Before we were running in the dark, here we actually had something to go on, which was _something_ I guessed.

"This could actually work, if we get the right stuff and manage to fool Harry's parents." Dougie commented on our list, which we thought covered everything well.

"We could say that about all of our other plans too, but this one, if done correctly, could work." I didn't want us to get cocky, if we got cocky; we'd get this all wrong. And God knows what would happen if we did get caught, Harry's dad was scary enough when his anger was towards Harry, what would he do to us if he caught us in his house? I shuddered at the thought, deciding I never wanted to find out what would actually happen.

"We've said that about previous plans too." Danny raised an eyebrow, twiddling his own pen in his fingers.

"And they've all failed." Dougie agreed.

"Yeah but this time we have Thomas and Katherine helping us. This time we could _get_ somewhere. It's the best plan we have right now!" okay I didn't want us getting cocky, but I also didn't want us to lose hope entirely!

"True... How's Fletch getting along with the police?" Dougie asked, looking at me, like I had the answers, he was the one who kept on talking to Fletch! Though he had stopped for a while, since we started our own plans...

"He's doing alright. Still fighting the police, and not making headway, but still trying." I had actually thought to text Fletch yesterday, so still knew what he was up to.

"So we have no back up there then." Danny sighed.

"Nope, good job we have Thomas." Without him we were screwed, we would have had no-one to help us.

If we hadn't had Thomas, we wouldn't have had anybody to help; we would have been screwed, with nobody who could get us in the house. Harry would be stuck where he was, and we would be powerless to help, relying completely on Fletch to get the police to help us, which was proving impossible. It would have been entirely possible for Harry to actually die in that house before we got to him.

At least with Thomas we had a _chance,_ but it was the only chance we had. If we failed, then that was it. We would be caught, or at least have his parents on higher alert, which would stop us from getting any closer. We had one shot, it had to be absolutely perfect, nothing could be left uncovered, if we failed, we would never have another chance, not without a serious fluke.

This plan had to end with Harry back with us, we had no other option, we would never see him again if we didn't do this right this time.


	102. Chapter 102

100 Harry's POV

"So Mum, when's the next ball planned for?" Katherine asked over dinner. I had come out of my room because she had turned up, not for any other reason. Dad was away on business or some sh*t, so I had gotten away with hiding for a while. But I'd come out for Katherine, if only just to see a kind face for once.

"Oh, I'm not sure yet. I'm thinking of planning the next one next month, but I will have to speak to your father first." Mum answered, eating another mouthful of perfectly cooked vegetables.

"Sounds like a good idea. It gives you enough time to plan another good party, possibly start thinking outside the box for guests." Katherine nodded along in agreement, barely watching me. It hurt to barely be acknowledged, but I could see why she was doing this, to not arouse suspicion or anything. She was on thin ice, after helping me out before, even if it wasn't proved as of yet.

"Why would we need to look outside the box for guests?" Mum looked confused for a minute.

"Because you're supposed to be getting Harry a new partner, and clearly Harry doesn't like anybody from our close social group. Maybe you should bring in some different people, to see if they can spark some interest. I'm not saying get some randomers we don't know, but maybe some people from further afield." Katherine explained... she had a plan, wait... was there a plan?! Could there be a plan?! Were the boys planning something?

Holy cr*p there could be a plan to get me out of here. I had to get hold of Katherine to question her about this somehow. I didn't want to get my hopes up for them to be dashed again, just in case. But if there was a plan, then I wanted to know about it. So I could be ready, move when they needed me to move.

"I can see the benefits; I shall have a think about it." Mum agreed, my God when was the last time I had seen her agree with anybody other than Dad?

"It'll help I reckon. At the least, it will open up the field a little, so Harry has more of a choice in partner." Katherine continued, that was true, I guessed. Though I still didn't _want_ it though. I didn't want this to happen. I wanted Dougie, and nobody else. I didn't want someone else; I didn't care how nice or 'proper' they were. I wanted _Dougie,_ and nobody could change my mind.

Hours later, Mum had agreed to the benefits of going further afield, and I was getting more and more certain that there was a plan going on behind my back. I had no idea what was going on, but I was sure there was a plan going on. This was weird to say the least. Katherine rarely talked this much about the balls my parents put on, and she was saying it was because she was interested in my second introduction to the rich families around here, but it was more than that, I could tell it was so much more than that.

But I never got the chance to _ask_ Katherine. Mum kept her talking all day instead, and never left us alone. I never even got a hint of alone time to talk, and it drove me _insane._ What was going on around here? Were the boys planning something? Was something going on to rescue me? Or was I going completely mad and seeing things? I couldn't be seeing things; I really, really could not be seeing things. I had to get out, I had to get out, this was _insane_ and so dangerous. I was scared I was going to die here, there had to be a plan to get out of here.

"Goodbye Harry, I'll see you at our next ball at the latest." Katherine smiled as she left, reaching in to hug me, "Don't stay in your room all day, that bed of yours is a mess."

Katherine hadn't been anywhere near my room. She had stayed downstairs for her entire visit... was she giving me a message? She could have been giving me a message... had she put something in my bed?

Did she _actually_ have a message for me?!


	103. Chapter 103

101 Dougie's POV

"Did you give him the message? He got the message right?!" I asked frantically, gripping the phone so tight I was sure my knuckles were white. But I had to know, we _had_ to make sure Harry knew that we were coming for him! Katherine had been a saving grace by offering to give the note to Harry explaining what was going on, as Thomas coming round too often would be seen as suspicious.

"I put the note under his mattress without anybody noticing, and gave him a clue to look under there for something. My parents are none the wiser." Katherine answered, _thank God._

"Does Harry know there's something for him to find though?" Harry sometimes missed the point, and he was scared and alone, who knew how his mind was working right now!

"He suspects at the least, I could almost see the cogs in his brain turning, he knows something is up, I assure you, he'll get the message." Katherine answered, good, that was good. It was a good start. If we could do this, everything would be okay. We'd get Harry out and home. He just had to make sure he had the message and was ready when we needed him to be.

"What if he doesn't? Or if your parents find out?" we couldn't afford for that to happen, we _had_ to have everything in place, nobody else could find out about this. If Harry's parents knew, then we would never have another shot at getting him free!

"Well if he doesn't get the message, then our parents will find out because the cleaners will find the paper when they change the sheets. But we can't think of that right now, we have to focus on this plan, and this plan only. We have a good shot at getting Harry out, and the message has been delivered, all we can do now is hope that he manages to find it and that nobody else does. I told him to destroy the paper after he'd read it, so if he does get to it, nobody else will." Katherine promised.

"Okay, okay that's something... where do we go from here with the plan anyway?" this message giving thing had been a very recent addition; I didn't know where we were going from here.

"Now we start getting you guys some disguises for the party, and wait for Mum to announce that she's going further afield with her partner searching," I winced at the mention of that, "From then, either me or Thomas can get you an invite, only you mind, as we don't want to draw _too_ much attention, and then we get to the party, and get Harry out." She made it all sound so simple, but it wasn't! It was going to be ridiculous, and I didn't know how we were going to manage something as big as this.

It was going to be so dangerous, I could get caught at any second, especially with Tom or Danny's back up. But they couldn't come, if Thomas or Katherine suddenly brought over three male friends to meet Harry, then their parents would get suspicious and rat us out. It was marginally safer to just have me go. But going by myself was leaving me wide open to who knows what! On my own, I had to snoop around the house, keep up my disguise, find Harry, and sneak him out under the watchful eye of who knew how many guards! It seemed impossible! I had no idea about how to go about this, not really!

Thomas and Katherine were going to help me blend in, and show me where all the guards were hiding, and which areas of the house to avoid. But it all still seemed like such an impossible mission, I hadn't done anything like this before, I didn't know how to sneak someone out, or how to go undetected. I mean, I was small enough to fly under most radars, and quiet enough that most people didn't notice that I was there. But this was different, I was going to be _looked for,_ and _observed,_ I had to be sneaky, without someone noticing I was being sneaky. And all the guards would be looking at Harry anyway; I didn't have a clue on how to get him out from under their noses!

I was so scared, and hearing the plan summary was _really_ not helping. I couldn't ask anybody else to do this though, I had to do this. I got Harry into this mess, and damn it I was getting him back out again!


	104. Chapter 104

102 Harry's POV

As soon as I could, I snuck into my room to search for some kind of message. Katherine must have left a message here, she wouldn't have made a comment about my bed if she hadn't been, would she? It sounded like there was a plan being formed for me, but was I just seeing things? I couldn't be seeing things out of desperation, _please;_ I couldn't be seeing things out of desperation...

My bed was perfectly made, as it had been this morning, it didn't look like someone had tampered with it, but would Katherine think of hiding the evidence? She was clever, and was sneaky when she needed to be... and we had to be so careful in case whatever was being planned was discovered. She _could_ have actually hidden something in my bed.

I checked under the pillow, and inside the case, then I checked under and inside the duvet, finding nothing. Could I be seeing things? F*ck I really didn't want to be, please tell me I was right, I had to be right! But where else would the message be hidden if not in the bed somewhere? Katherine specifically mentioned my bed; why else would she do that?! Ugh, I was getting slow, this place was driving me insane slowly; I swear I used to be _good_ at being sneaky and reading clues!

Wait a minute, what about under the mattress? Could something be under the mattress? I scrambled to lift the thing up, finding a piece of small white paper. YES! I knew I was right! I freaking knew it!

I pulled the paper out, putting my back against the wall and checking to make sure that nobody was around to see me. I'd closed the door, but I couldn't take any chances. This could have been my chance, or at least some sort of _chance_ of escape, I had to be careful, and to destroy the evidence afterwards. Taking a breath, I opened the paper, reading the message scrawled in Katherine's neat writing.

 _'_ _We're coming Harry, we have a plan. We will get you out at the party after the next; Dougie will be there in disguise, pretending to be a new suitor for you and a friend of mine. You need to go along with him, and with my help, will sneak you out of the house. Be on your guard, we are working round the clock to help. Destroy this message after you read it, don't try to contact us, act natural. We will come for you, don't give up.'_

There was a plan; oh thank God there was a plan, and one that could be set into work soon! I could be getting out of here soon, in just a few months. Of course I'd have to survive the next few months in this house, but there was a _plan!_ And Dougie was coming to rescue me! I could totally handle that, could _totally_ do this. This would take some planning and leaving the others to do the planning wasn't my strong point, but at least there was a plan being made! Plans were a _start_ ; of course the plan had to go well when it was enacted for this to work completely. But plans were a good start, at least something was being done to help me, so I wasn't rotting here alone, trying to avoid Dad's heavy hand!

The problem was going to be waiting though. I wasn't good at waiting, and wasn't good at lying either. I was good at sneaking around, but I couldn't sneak around that much because there was nothing for me to sneak around and do. It was all up to everyone else to do the organising. I just had to sit here instead, sit and wait for the others to rescue me. That was going to be tough, to not cause suspicion in my parents, or anyone else for that matter. Could I do that? I was under so much observation; could I actually act normally without giving away that there was a rescue being planned?

I had to, I had no other choice, and I didn't want another choice. I was getting out of here; I didn't care about what I had to do. There was no way I could stay here anymore, Dad was beating the sh*t out of me, every single thing I did was criticised, I was being forced to start a new relationship with someone I didn't like or know. I wasn't going to continue with it. This was it, I was _leaving,_ and at the first chance I got. The minute I saw Dougie again, I was _gone_ from here.


	105. Chapter 105

103 Dougie's POV

"Okay, so we have a ginger wig, some facial hair, glasses and a suit as a physical disguise. To hide your voice you will be putting on an accent, and you will be going by a completely different name, and masquerading as a friend of mine at the party. You won't be talking directly to my parents if we can help it, but I've created a back story for you just in case you get asked about it. Now all we need is to practice the accent and the back story, and scope out security measures to create an escape plan, and we should be ready to go rescue my brother." Katherine summed up, looking me up and down.

I'd put on the disguise we had come up with, to test out how I looked. And if I'm honest, I did look _very_ different, I'd never dyed my hair ginger, like I had with brown, and mixed with the fake stubble around my cheeks, and the glasses, the posh, well fitted suit, nothing like I had ever worn before, I was unrecognisable. I could barely recognise me in the mirror as I twisted this way and that, checking from all angles.

"Great, are we sure that Harry will recognise me?" if I couldn't recognise me, could Harry do it?

"He doesn't have to; you can tell him who you are." Katherine answered, was she serious?

"That's a bit dangerous, anybody could overhear that." Tom pointed out, which were my thoughts exactly. If I simple said to him 'hi Harry, it's Dougie. I'm here to rescue you.' That would look really bad! Anybody could have overheard and ratted us out, and then where would we be?! Probably stuck with absolutely no way to save Harry!

"Sh*t, didn't think of that. Right, we'll sort out a codeword, or... do you have an in joke or something you can use so he knows it's you? That could work quite well." Katherine asked, starting to chew on a nail, before quickly stopping. Had to keep up appearances, and that included perfect nails.

"Er, we have a few. I'll think of the best one later." There were many different in jokes I could use, the question would really be which was the most effective, and how could I get it into a conversation? Who knew what state Harry would be in by the time we got to him, I'd have to be clear, and to make sure that he knew it was me.

"Tell me what it is before you go in there, so I know it too in case you need help. Now we need to practice your accent, currently your accent will have you sticking out like a sore thumb, and you really need to blend in." Katherine started directing me on how to speak; it was harder than it looked. To me, a posh accent was just that, a posh accent, but it really wasn't. There were different pronunciations of letters, different phrases that needed to be used, and slang had to be completely taken out.

I had to think constantly about what I was saying, and how I was saying it. Everything had to be taken into account, and I couldn't let the act drop once. If I did, I'd be found out straight away, and I really, really couldn't get caught while doing this. I had to be perfect at this, and had to get this done right. There was no point in being half assed about it, or not paying proper attention. At any second, I could be found out. I had to be absolutely perfect at this, or I'd never be convincing enough to get past Harry's parents/guards/whoever else was at the house.

The pressure was mounting at the thought of it all; I still couldn't believe I was doing this. That I had to don this outfit and put on a new accent to rescue Harry from that hell hole. Everything was riding on me here; we wouldn't have another chance at this if I failed. It was all completely on me, and that was _terrifying._ I couldn't put a foot wrong, had to do everything right, and I had to do it quick.

It wasn't just the costume and the accent, I also had to make sure I wasn't caught by the guards when I was sneaking Harry out, and I had to somehow get us from the middle of a party filled with judgemental people and guards, into the car and then to drive away, without anybody noticing. There would be guards by the doors, and by the gates, and basically everywhere else too. And I had to sneak me _and_ Harry out of there with nobody seeing, and I had no idea how I was going to manage that. I knew we had time to plan that bit, after Thomas had scoped out the next party for us, but my God I was scared. I had no idea what I was doing, and anything could go wrong at any second, I didn't know what I was going to do, and quite frankly, I was terrified to find out.


	106. Chapter 106

104 Harry's POV

The next two parties were planned quickly, and soon the security, catering, guest lists and everything else was sorted out. I let it happen, putting in token arguments and moaning sessions to keep up appearances. It was enough to not cause suspicions, but not enough to make Dad hit me again. He was more careful about the abuse when a party was coming up, so there was no physical evidence, but that didn't mean it didn't hurt when he did lash out.

At least he calmed down a bit, which was a God send. Though I couldn't help but think about what would happen when if Dad found out about our plan, there was no sign of him being suspicious at the moment, but he could have been playing it cool for all I knew. But, if his anger issues were something to consider, he'd have blown up by now if he knew. So I thought we were safe... maybe. Hopefully. If we were lucky.

My siblings were convinced that Dad didn't have a clue of our plan either, so we continued to plan as best as we could. It was tough work, considering the security surrounding me, but notes managed to be passed between us, so I could be kept in the loop about what the plan was.

Dougie was doing well in perfecting his posh accent and was starting to look the part too. Apparently he looked completely different from usual in his disguise, and was really starting to get into it, he was nervous, but he was getting there. I wasn't sure if that was a comfort or not, but it was better than not knowing anything, and at least I knew what to expect when the time came. I had to be prepared, because the timing would be _everything_ with this plan. A split second delay and things could go horribly wrong. Dad could catch us, and I _dreaded_ to think what would happen if he found Dougie...

"If I dare catch you trying to escape from this party, or if I hear about you being rude to our guests, you will be for it, do you hear me young man?" Dad threatened the night before the first party, the one where Thomas and Katherine were scouting the security detail.

"Yes, yes I heard you! I'll be good!" for this party at least, the next one, no way in hell.

"You better be, because when I say _you_ will be for it, I mean that delinquent boy you're so infatuated with. I'll beat him so bad he won't be able to stand straight." Dad hissed in my face, arm pressing against my windpipe.

"I'll be good! I'll be good I swear!" I heaved out, panicking more for Dougie's safety than my own. F*ck if we got caught this wouldn't end well. If we didn't get caught, this still might not end well. We'd have to go on the run, flee the country or something for a while, to get away until Mum and Dad could be arrested or something. We wouldn't be able to stay in London, or go back to being a band straight away, that was for certain. _Sh*t._

"You better, you are _ours,_ and I will not have you leaving us for anything. You're not going back to that band, and that life, at all. You will not be leaving us until you are a respectable human being again." Dad let me go, glaring daggers at me.

"I won't be. I've learnt that there's no escape." I glared right back, "Now if you don't mind, I'm going to get some dinner." I walked past him, storming off before he could get another word in.

Dad let that slide, but continued to glare, but otherwise ignore me, during dinner. I didn't mind too much, the glare wasn't too bad, compared to the hits he could give me. The glare was nothing compared to anything else he could do, he could glare until the cows came home, I'd let him as long as he didn't do anything else to me, or Dougie.

Really, I was more scared for Dougie than I was for me, Dad hadn't repeated that threat to me in a while, and now he was again. I was scared for what he would do to my boy if I stepped out of line. If he could hit me until the cows came home, and I was his own son, what would he do to Dougie? Someone he had only met once, someone he _hated_ with all of his soul, someone he thought was a terrible human being. I was so scared for him, and all I could do to save him was to keep myself out of trouble.

But with this plan we were enacting, so much could go wrong. If Dad found out... God I wasn't even going to think about it. Dougie could possibly die. Oh God Dougie could _die_ because of my Dad.

This plan had to go right, not a think could go wrong, we had to be absolutely perfect with everything. If we didn't, it wouldn't be me getting it in the neck, it would be Dougie, and that was something I couldn't face.


	107. Chapter 107

105 Dougie's POV

 _"_ _Dougie, Dougie, Dougie wake up!" Harry shook my shoulder, rousing me from sleep._

 _"_ _Huh? What's going on?" I asked, words slurring as I slowly woke up._

 _"_ _It's your birthday silly! It's time to wake up!" Harry grinned, looking pleased with himself._

 _"_ _Ugh, five more minutes." I rolled over; it was too early for this._

 _"_ _No, we gotta go now, come on! I let you lay in until ten as it is, now come on!" Harry pulled the duvet off me, if he wasn't my boyfriend of nearly a year, I would have_ _ **killed**_ _him for doing that._

 _"_ _If this is how you're going to be every birthday, then we are not lasting that long." I growled, not really meaning it. I was just half asleep; I needed food... and more time napping._

 _"_ _Maybe, maybe not. But I have a plan today, so you have to wake up!" Harry continued to grin that beautiful grin of his, the one I couldn't resist._

 _"_ _Fine. At least say I get breakfast before we go anywhere." I sighed, hoping that I got that at least._

 _"_ _Tom's cooking a fry up as we speak." Harry answered, pushing me towards the shower._

 _I did as prompted, showering and dressing in what I thought would be appropriate for the day. I didn't even know where we were going; let alone what we were doing, so I had no point of reference for clothes. I did the best I could though, going for a slightly smarter version of what I would usually wear around the house._

 _"_ _There you are, beautiful as ever." Harry grinned again upon seeing me, coming over to give me a kiss._

 _"_ _If you say so, but where are you taking me today? You haven't said, and we've got interviews and stuff to do right?" I asked, I was sure we had interviews and promo to do today. We couldn't exactly do much around that..._

 _"_ _Nope, we've got nothing on. And I'm not telling you what we're doing, it's a surprise." Harry smirked, oh he was playing_ _ **that**_ _game was he? That sod._

 _Harry continued to be a sod the whole morning, not telling me anything while Tom and Danny exchanged gifts with me. He wouldn't even let me downstairs, to our own front room! Why I didn't know, but he was refusing to let me leave the bedroom, bringing everything I wanted to me._

 _"_ _Harry, why can't I go downstairs? And why won't you tell me what's going on?" I asked, really wanting to know. This was all weird, and I didn't get what he was doing! I was only asking to go downstairs to our front room, why wasn't he allowing me to do that?!_

 _"_ _Because it's a surprise, alright? There's no surprise if I just tell you what's going on now is there? So come on, just stay up here with me a while longer, I'll take you down as soon as we're ready." Harry promised, I wasn't sure I could trust that look though. He was up to something, something quite devious. What I couldn't tell though._

 _"_ _Fine, but why can't we go downstairs? It's just downstairs." I didn't get why downstairs was off limits too._

 _"_ _Admittedly, we are running slightly behind schedule, but everything is in order, we just have to stay upstairs for a bit longer. You'll find out soon enough what this is about. Now come over here, why don't we listen to that new Simple Plan album, yeah?" Harry suggested, I let him, curling up in his arms and listening to the new album together. This, I could get used to I guessed. It was nice to be together, just the two of us, cuddling in bed in the middle of the day. Even if I still didn't know what was going on, and was very suspicious, I liked the quiet moment together._

 _Eventually, Harry's phone 'dinged' meaning he had a text. He checked it quickly before jumping up, holding his hand out to me._

 _"_ _We're ready at last! If you'd like to follow me birthday boy, I'll show you to your surprise." He pulled me up, leading me down the stairs to our own front room, which had been transformed with birthday balloons and banners, coupled with food tables. It was amazing; our front room never looked like this, ever! We still had our Christmas lights up from the year before, having never taken them down, but birthday decorations never happened!_

 _But that all paled compared to who was in the room. Aside from Tom and Danny, who were a given at a birthday party in this house, were my Mum, Nan and sister, sitting in our sofas, like they were meant to be there._

 _"_ _Mum you weren't... what are you doing here?" I didn't expect... I hadn't seen her in so_ _ **long,**_ _at least a couple of months. I didn't think... I thought we were going to busy today, and not have any time to see any of my family this year. I thought... I hadn't expecting to see her for at least another week._

 _I ran over to her, jumping into her and my Nan's arms, feeling them both, and my sister, wrap their arms around me too, encasing me in a tight hug, one I had been craving for so_ _ **long.**_

 _"_ _Harry told us that you missed us, and were upset about not seeing us on your birthday, so he talked with us and Fletch, and managed to give you the day off and get us down here to see you." Mum explained, I couldn't believe... Harry managed to rearrange our schedule for_ _ **me?**_ _Just so I could see my family on my birthday? I couldn't believe it!_

 _"_ _I couldn't stand to see you so sad Doug, I had to at least try, you know?" Harry smiled again._

 _"_ _Thank you, thank you so much." I couldn't, there were no words whatsoever to describe this, he... he gave me what I thought was impossible today. He gave me my family for my birthday, that meant more than words could ever describe._

I woke up, scrubbing a hand over my face, trying to wake myself up a bit. I hadn't expected a dream like that; I was expecting a nightmare or something to do with what could happen at the party I was attending soon. A dream of such a happy memory though, that I really wasn't expecting.

Curling back up under my covers, I stared over at Harry's side of the bed, wondering if I could do this, if I could actually get Harry back out of his house. I'd give it my best shot, but I wasn't sure if it would be enough. I wasn't good at acting, or keeping facts straight in my head, I could get caught out at any point. F*ck this was worrying.

I'd try though; I couldn't _not_ try, because Harry was in trouble. And he did so much for me, like plan that birthday party for me, the least I could do was try and help him out with this. It was the complete opposite situation, he gave me my family, I was taking him away from his, but the point still stood. I was saving him, for far more important reasons. And I was so scared to fail, but I _had_ to do it. If I screwed up, at least I tried, and I'd make up another plan. But I was going to try. I'd never forgive myself if I didn't.


	108. Chapter 108

106 Harry's POV

The next party was tedious, even when serving us with a purpose. Having to play nice to this many people was painful, so many were here just to continue gawking at me, and to gossip. I couldn't even do anything to stop them, I just had to sit there and smile, nod along sometimes and laugh when appropriate. All I really wanted to do was run out that door and never look back, that or hit someone, because my _God_ could a group of people get more judgemental if they tried?!

"There's four guards in each room, each guarding a door or window. Extra are around the perimeter, and there's five at the gate." Thomas relayed back to me in the middle of the night, whispering as close as he could without being suspicious.

"Bugger." I didn't dare swear, just in case.

"I know. It's a pain, but everyone is allowed to flow freely, as well as leave when they want." Thomas explained, nodding to one door, where people were happily wandering in and out.

"Everyone doesn't include me." I hissed, had my brother really forgotten that important fact?

"Maybe if me or Katherine accompanies you and Doug, you'll be fine." Thomas suggested.

"Doubt it; you're on the suspicious list. Now can we stop talking about this? Dad will catch on." I walked away, grabbing another drink off a waiter and trying not to look like I was downing it in a hope to get drunk. Maybe that would make this night bearable. Probably not, even if it did, Dad wouldn't be pleased, he'd probably go ape sh*t and go on a rampage in Dougie's direction.

I really should not think of Dad hurting Dougie while I was trying to look relaxed and happy to be there. I'd surely give something away.

"Having fun?" our family doctor sidled up to me.

"Wonderful, I feel like I could dance I'm so happy." I replied sarcastically, "At least the food is good." I popped some sort of posh entre in my mouth, not really caring what it was.

"That it is. I was wondering if you'd like to accompany me for a while, these parties aren't the most pleasant thing in the world." She offered, oh thank God.

"With pleasure." Dad surely couldn't get angry at me hanging out with our doctor could he? Surely not, she was a trusted member of the team here, and I was socialising, and I wasn't making a scene, just like he wanted.

"Thought you'd say that." She smiled, "Now, how about if you point out some people around here, give me some background on them."

"Why do you want that?" who would willingly want to know about these people?

"So I can at least act like I know them. Fake it until you make it, you know?" she shrugged.

"Fake what? You're a damn doctor, that should surely be enough for these morons." If a doctor wasn't good enough, what was?!

"I'm a _live in_ doctor, not one with a surgery, or a surgeon for that matter. I'm skilled, but I'm still classed as 'the help,' so I'm still not good enough." She sighed, though she didn't look too put out by that.

"Ouch. Why'd you take the job then?" didn't make sense to me, why would anybody want to go through all this?

"The pay is exceptional." She shrugged again, I couldn't argue with that, so started pointing out families and such, explaining their back stories and the juicy gossip I had picked up over time.

It was overall, not that bad an evening, and Dad didn't even get angry with me for anything either, probably because I had had a few conversations with other people, even if it was just to secretly prove something to our trusty doctor, who's name I'd found out was Hayley. I couldn't believe I hadn't asked before, but I hadn't really thought of it before, it wasn't like she wore a name badge. But after the amount of time we were spending together, I should have at least known her name.

I wondered if I could get her to help us somehow in this plan, she'd been kind to me in the past, and hadn't agreed with Dad's treatment of me. Maybe we could have pulled her onto our side, so she could help somehow. Hayley was trustworthy enough, and quite frankly the nicest member of staff, so it was possible that she could help. If everything went south at the next party, maybe we could fake an illness that needed hospital treatment, so I could run out that way. It would depend on what happened after that party, but that could have possible worked...

I'd have a think about it, for now, I was just happy to have someone who understood what was going on around here. It made me feel less lonely, and more like I had a fighting chance, which was something I sorely needed.


	109. Chapter 109

107 Dougie's POV

"What's the security like?" I asked, hugging my knees and starting to get worried. This was becoming a bit too real; we were starting to get too close to the rescue mission. I'd have to start acting soon, and that was scary.

"Four guards in each room, every one of them guarding a door or a window, there's extra around the perimeter of the house, and five at the gate." Thomas explained... well _f*ck_ that was a lot, "That's not including the security cameras and the motion sensors." _F*cking sh*tting f*ckballs._

"The motion sensors won't be an issue if you sneak out during the party, but if you wait until after it's over, when there's less guards around, you'll have to deal with them, which will be impossible. That means we'll have to get out during the party, which means getting past the guards and the cameras without getting caught." Thomas continued.

"Sounds nearly impossible." Tom commented, chewing on his lip.

"It does sound it, but as long as we play our cards right, we can manage this." Thomas answered, his positivity was astounding.

"How are you so sure? With that much security it sounds impossible, how am I supposed to sneak Harry out without any of these guards of cameras noticing?" I didn't see how I was going to manage it, it sounded impossible.

"I overheard my parents talking, they'll allow Harry out, or at least let him wander the grounds to have some privacy when he finds someone he likes. That gets the house guards out the way, then the gates will be more difficult admittedly, but I think we can dupe the guards into opening the gates to allow you out." Thomas explained, tapping his pen against the house blueprints.

"That isn't a certainty. And how will we trick them? I'm posing as one of your friends, surely that'll put your parents on high alert, and they'll warn the guards." I was sure that this wasn't going to work. This sounded impossible, and really not well thought out, how we were we going to manage this?!

It took a lot of discussing, but we finally got a plan together. It took the best part of a day, but it was eventually managed, thank God. It meant we had a lot of changes to our original ideas, so I now wasn't pretending to be a personal friend of Thomas' or Katherine's. I was now pretending to be a co-worker's son, who had been overheard to be saying that I was looking for a partner. That would hopefully look less suspicious, as it was something that both my siblings had done before.

I had to change my story slightly, but it was an easy enough change. It was remembering the plan that was difficult. I had to remember a lot, including how to stay in character the entire time, while making sure Harry knew it was me. Then I had to get him out of the house, which wouldn't be an issue, and get him past the gate and away.

We had originally planned to put Harry in the boot, but after realising that that was the plan from last time, we had to change it because surely the guards would check for that. So now instead our only idea was to wait.

It sounded _mental,_ but if we didn't see any other way to get through past the guards at the gate without getting caught. So instead we were being even more dangerous. I had to show up, meet up with Harry, pretend to be falling in love with him while pretending to not be me, and interact with his parents to win them over. Then I had to _leave_ and _come back again,_ and try to take him out on a 'date' without supervision, which was where we would make our escape.

And I _hated_ that plan with a passion, it was stupid, and too slow, and left far too much to chance, and left Harry in that house for far too long, but we had no other choice. We couldn't get past everything during the party, so we had to make do and hope for the best. This would have to work, and if it didn't, well... I had no idea what to do.

But this plan was our only choice, so I would have to go with it and hope for the best. If it worked, great, and if it didn't... I didn't want to know right now. I was scared enough; thinking about the consequences of this would only make things worse.


	110. Chapter 110

108 Harry's POV

I found that our family doctor was a great ally to have in the house, and took to visiting her a lot during the day. There was nothing else to do, and hey, if Dad decided to be a complete b*stard and hit me again, at least I would be in the right place to get patched up. During our talks, I discovered that her name was Hayley, that she had started working for our family three years ago, and that she didn't agree with my father _at all._

"I don't think you should be put through something like this at all. In my opinion, you were perfectly happy as a drummer in a band, with your friends and your boyfriend, and you should have been left alone. You weren't doing anything wrong with them, and quite frankly, I don't see why your dad felt the need to explode over this." she explained, breaking a chocolate bar in half, handing me one part.

"I know, it's absolutely ridiculous. He seems to think that the boys are bad influences on me and that I need to be straightened out. I don't see what's so bad about being in a band, especially ours." I agreed, chewing on a piece of the chocolate. Mum wasn't keen on me eating anything that wasn't deemed healthy, at this point I was craving some damn sugar.

"Yeah, from what I can tell, you boys were practically model citizens." Hayley nodded at me to go on.

"I wouldn't go _that_ far, we do have our moments, but we never get in trouble with the police or any of that stuff. We're not falling out of clubs at 3am, getting involved in scandals, or anything. Mostly we stay inside our band house and play on the Xbox." I couldn't see the point of freaking out over _that._ I'd understand if we were getting into trouble with the law and constantly in the papers for all the wrong reasons, but we _weren't._ Ever. Not once.

"Exactly, you're the most put together twenty one year old I've ever met. If you were my son, I'd be incredibly proud of you." Hayley smiled.

"Thanks, that, that means a lot." It did, it meant so much in this situation. I couldn't even remember the last time I'd been shown affection, or been told that someone was proud of me. Hearing it again was like surfacing from being under water.

"Just telling the truth my friend." Hayley shrugged, "So, tell me about Dougie, I don't think I've heard much about the boy who's apparently ruining you."

"Oh are you ready for this conversation? There's a _lot_ I could say." I laughed, because I could go on for days about Dougie and how much I loved him.

"And I want to hear it; all I hear is about how there's this boy who's ruining you, who's complete vermin. I'd like to hear it from _your_ point of view." Hayley leant forward, so I started from the beginning, telling her everything I could about Dougie and our relationship, right from the beginning.

It was great to reminisce with someone who hadn't heard about any of this before, who was actually interested and wasn't passing judgement. Or if she was, she was approving highly of my Dougie, saying he sounded like a perfect man.

"He is, I love him so much. I just wish I could be with him." I really wished I could, I felt like there was a part of me missing with him so far away. I hadn't even heard his voice in so long; it ached deep inside my chest.

"You will be soon, I'm sure. He's got some sort of plan for this, hasn't he?" Hayley asked, I nodded.

"It's risky, but we're trying it, we have no other option." If things went according to plan, I'd never step foot in this house again after the next party, and I couldn't be more glad about that. I'd miss Hayley's company, but it was a small price to pay to get out of here and back to my lover.

"Well let me know if you need any help, because this is absolutely ridiculous. I'd have reported this to the police already if I thought it would do any good." Hayley sighed.

"Yeah, somehow my parents have too much influence to even be considered to be evil." I grumbled, hating this family's influence around here. It made them untouchable, even with all the evidence we had gathered before I'd been taken back here, it wasn't enough to get the police even round here. I didn't think that that was even possible.

"It shouldn't be that way, but it is for now. You'll get out though, and I'm not ashamed to say that I'll be glad you're gone." Hayley squeezed my arm.

"I will be too. I won't come back here ever again after I get out, I don't care what anybody says." Nothing would persuade me to come back after this, absolutely nothing. I didn't care if my parents repented or anything, I wasn't stepping foot back here again, or having anything to do with either parent. Thomas and Katherine would be my only family, they actually cared, they _helped_ me. My parents though, _never_ again.

"That'll be for the best I think, this place won't do you any good whatsoever. You need to get out, before you get killed." Hayley gave me a very worried look.

"I'll be long gone before then. I've got a month left, I can survive that." that I was sure of. It was only a month, a month was _nothing._


	111. Chapter 111

109 Dougie's POV

The day of the big party came around too quick, months of training and practising paling into nothing but a huge piece of fear lodging itself in my chest. This was happening, f*cking hell, I was going in to _rescue Harry_ from his parent's house, while avoiding his parents, the guards and every other security measure imaginable. Was I _crazy?!_ I must have been, but there was no other choice, Harry was relying on us to get him out, he was relying on _me_ rescuing him. I had to do this, I wanted to do this.

I had never been more terrified in my life.

"You're going to be fine Dougie, just remember the plan and everything will be okay." Katherine promised, "We're going to be behind you, every step of the way."

"But what if that's not enough?! This could all go horrible wrong Katherine! Your parents are too clever; they'll find us out somehow!" I was terrified something was going to go wrong, anything could go wrong at any damn second! This was all a huge mistake, Tom should have gone in or something, he was better at acting and hiding in plain sight than me!

"It _will_ be, and if it isn't, well then we'll come up with something else. We will get Harry out of there, alright? We will, all it takes is a bit of acting, and a bit of clever manoeuvring, and we'll get Harry free." Katherine straightened my tie and brushed off my jacket.

"I'm scared." I whispered, absolutely terrified.

"I know, and that's okay. But we'll get through this together, alright? We'll get through and everything will be okay." Katherine promised, "Now we need to get moving, have you got everything you need?"

"I-I think so. I mean, my disguise is all on, and I've got my cover story sorted." I nodded; checking my wig and everything, it was all there.

"Good, now come on, we've got to be there in two hours and it's going to take us that long just to get there." Katherine lead the way to the car.

"Good luck mate, bring him home for us, yeah?" Danny encouraged.

"You're going to do great out there, just try to keep calm, remember to breathe. Once you find Harry, he'll help you with the plan." Tom smiled, him and Danny giving me a hug.

"I'll be back as soon as possible." I promised, trudging to the car, getting in and letting Katherine drive us there.

She quizzed me the entire way there on my back story, making sure I got it exactly right and nothing was left to me guessing. When she wasn't quizzing me on that, she was quizzing me on the security details around the house were, making sure I knew all the available routes in and out. It was going to be a minefield, and getting out was going to be near impossible to do. And somehow _I_ was entrusted to do this, me, who could barely stand up and talk at the same time. Me, who couldn't handle performing in front of crowds without a guitar in my hands. Me, who could barely look after myself!

"It's because you're little, and quiet. You disappear into the background so easily, nobody notices if you're there or not. Tom and Danny, they attract more attention, you don't. So you can slip in and out easily, and hopefully that means you can slip Harry out too." Katherine explained, eyes staying on the road. We were getting closer to the mansion by the second, and the dread was starting to make me feel incredibly sick.

"But all the guards are watching Harry, so they'll notice me." it was besides the point that I was invisible when Harry wasn't!

"Yes, but they are allowed to let him out into the garden at these parties, and even if you weren't in disguise, they would not recognise your face, because you blend in so well. You're face is forgettable to them, so they won't recognise you, which is entirely the point. Trust me, I know what I'm on about, I've planned and counter-planned this to a ridiculous degree." Katherine promised, that _really_ didn't help.

"What if I get caught, and they find out who I am?" if they did that, I really didn't want to think of what they would do to me...

"Well then they'll probably just kick you out of the house and make sure you can't get back in. If that happens, we'll come up with a new plan, but right now let's not think of that, okay? Because this is going to work, we need to believe in this plan for it to work. So let's just believe in the plan for a bit and get on with it." Katherine reached the gates of the mansion.

"Stick to the plan, and don't forget the accent, or the cover story!" she whispered as the gates opened, bringing us right to the centre of Harry's prison.

If I had thought I was terrified before, now I was numb with fear. It was all on me now, if I screwed up, we wouldn't have another opportunity like this again. The pressure was on, and I didn't have a clue on how to cope with it.


	112. Chapter 112

110 Harry's POV

Scanning the crowd without looking like I was scanning the crowd was getting increasingly difficult. I was just so desperate to see Dougie, but I had _no idea_ what he was going to look like. I just knew it was the complete opposite of what he usually looked like, which was no help at all! I needed solid information, photos, the lot!

God, where was he!?

"Calm down little brother, he'll arrive soon." Thomas warned, sipping on wine nonchalantly.

"You try and be calm when your boyfriend, who is hated by 99% of these party goers, is in disguise and trying to rescue you!" I hissed back, glad we were standing on the balcony overlooking the party, so nobody was around to hear us.

"Alright, well at least try and look calm. You're going to put people on edge, and then you're going to draw attention, and that's where this plan will go monumentally wrong." Thomas answered, "Now go downstairs and mingle. Either Katherine or I will introduce you to your latest suitor when it is appropriate. For now, look like you're trying to have fun."

"You are asking a lot, just so you know." He really was, I just wanted to find Dougie and _run,_ not have to play this whole charade out! But I had to go along with it, or we wouldn't make it past the front door.

"It's worth it. Now move." Thomas urged me on, following me down to the main rooms.

The ballroom and every surrounding room was filled with people, some from the last few parties, some new faces too. Each one was dressed up for the occasion, all in their best suits and dresses, hair styled to perfection, not a single thing out of place. Their collective voices were grating on my nerves, hearing the posh tones as they bragged endlessly about whatever success they were having, be it in their university studies or their high powered jobs.

I still hated them all. Hated them all so damn much. But knowing that Dougie was on his way made things better, knowing that he was coming to rescue me was enough to get me through, or at least was enough to get me to try to get through this new wave of torture.

But the waiting was taking forever, and _mingling_ with everyone was tedious. I wanted to keep on checking the crowd during my conversations, but knew it would only look suspicious. I had to wait, and the waiting was truly awful. I could feel my skin tingling in anticipation, my insides folding in on themselves as I waited for Thomas or Katherine to appear, my lover by their side. It felt like I could almost feel Dougie drawing nearer, getting closer to me by the second.

We would be reunited soon, and how I was going to keep from kissing him in front of all these people I didn't know. I'd figure that out when I saw him, for now, I had to try and _calm down._

"Harry, there you are! I've been looking all over for you!" Katherine's voice came suddenly, in the middle of a conversation with some guy who was bragging about his gap year in India.

"Excuse me, my sister is calling." I politely managed to say, anticipation building inside me. If Katherine was calling, and saying that, she had to have Dougie right? She had to have Dougie. Dougie was close; my boy was so close and in the building, coming to rescue me from this hell for once and for all. _Oh my God._

I turned round, seeing my sister first, and then someone I would recognise anywhere. Even with the wig (had to be a wig, Dougie wouldn't have cut his hair that short just for this, or dyed it), the glasses and the new suit, it was Dougie. I could see him in the shape of his face, in his short body. And most importantly, in his eyes. Those beautiful blue eyes, staring at me like I was the most perfect thing he had ever seen, with so much love and affection. That was him. My Dougie. Right here in front of me.

I couldn't quite believe it.


	113. Chapter 113

111 Danny's POV

"They're not home yet." I reminded Tom for the third time that night.

"You've said." Tom mumbled, rubbing his face tiredly.

"Yeah but _they're not home yet._ " It was 3am in the morning, where were Harry and Dougie?! Weren't they supposed to be home by now!? Had Katherine said a time for them to come home?! I couldn't remember, f*ck what if they were in trouble!?

"We don't know when they're supposed to be coming home though; they could still be trying to get out. You heard about the security in that mansion, it's probably going to take a while to sneak past it all." Tom answered with a yawn. We had been up since 9am that morning, trying to prepare Dougie as best we could for this mission. Now I was wishing that we had gone with him, so at least we knew just exactly what was going on.

"What if they get caught?" I bit my lip, not able to help worrying about this mission. Dougie was so young, he didn't have a clue on how to get through these situations, none of us did. And we were trusting him to sneak into a security filled mansion and get Harry out, without getting caught! It was an impossible mission, surely!

"Then... I don't know. But they're not going to get caught, Dougie's story holds up, his disguise holds up, he'll get through this." Tom stood and stopped me from pacing, holding my hand.

"But what if he panics? You know he has panic attacks." I could see it now, Dougie getting caught up in the situation and having a panic attack, drawing attention to himself and being found out. God knew what Harry's dad would do if he found Dougie trying to break Harry out.

"I know, but he's stronger than you give him credit for. He can manage this; Harry will help him if he needs to." Tom smiled a little, but it didn't reach his eyes. He was worried too, I could tell.

"I just, I just don't want him to be caught, I want us back together again." I couldn't stand this, couldn't stand not knowing how Harry was, or what was happening to him. Couldn't stand not being able to protect him. He had to be okay, and he had to be _here,_ he belonged in this house. We all belonged in this house; it was our home, and our lives.

"I do too Dan, we're just going to have to trust Dougie to get this done right. It's all we can do. If they don't come home, then we'll figure something out. But right now, we have to believe in them. Dougie's been through this plan a million times, Harry knows the house like the back of his hand. They'll make it." Tom reassured me, pulling me into his arms.

I buried my head in his chest, wrapping my arms around his middle, praying that Dougie got Harry out of this mess. They had to make it out, they couldn't _not_ make it out, we needed them more than anything. We were brothers, we had to be together, nothing else would do unless we were together.

"I suppose it's stupid to ask you to come to bed tonight?" Tom sighed, sounding fond.

"I don't want to sleep, I want to be awake." I couldn't sleep at a time like this, not with so much stress surrounding us. I needed to stay awake, I needed to know when my friends arrived back home, needed to know that they were _safe._

"Figured as much." Tom smiled into my curls.

"Don't you want to stay up for them?" I asked, pushing further into his chest.

"Yeah, but I was suggesting lying down to make time go faster. Stupid idea really." Tom answered, hand running up and down my back soothingly.

There was quiet for a few minutes, the two of us taking a moment to hold onto one another for comfort.

"I want them home." I whispered.

"I do too. They'll come soon enough." Tom promised, and I wished he knew that for certain.

The waiting was horrible, I wanted them back now. Harry and Dougie had to get out of that mansion and back here together. They had to. There was no other option for them.

They had to come home tonight, hadn't they?


	114. Chapter 114

112 Dougie's POV

Laying eyes on Harry's for the first time in months was... was truly indescribable. Seeing my Harry, right in front of my eyes, looking almost safe and so close to me, it was truly incredible.

Every single cell in my body wanted to run at him and hold him in my arms, to cry into his chest and kiss him all over, tell him that I was so sorry, that I was so, _so_ sorry for arguing with him that day at the studio, for forcing him away, for not coming back here sooner. So many things to apologise for, and so much more to say to him. Tell him that I loved him, that I had missed him every single day, that I was now going to get him out of here and we'd be stuck together like glue from now on.

"Hello, you... you must be Harry." I choked out instead, keeping up appearances.

"Yes, yes I am." Harry grinned stupidly at me, I could see in his eyes that he knew exactly who I was, and that he was feeling the exact same way I did, but was holding himself back.

"I'm, I'm James. You're sister has told me a lot about you." I breathed, whole body shaking.

"Oh really, what kind of things?" Harry replied, coming in closer.

"Good, good things. Handsome, talented, clever, funny." _My perfect Harry, my Harry, mine and mine alone. Perfect as he is, no need to change for anything._

"Oh I wouldn't believe her at all with that, I'm a lot more fun." Harry winked, "Want to go talk somewhere more private? It's a bit crowded in here." He led me off, Katherine in tow, to a separate room. People were still in the room, but it was a hell of a lot less crowded than before, so we could talk.

And talk we did, all night long. We talked and talked, pretending to get to know each other, silently assessing each other as we did. Harry looked reasonably okay; he was skinnier than usual, and really pale, with dark rings around his eyes. But he looked reasonable. I still was scared of what his Dad had been doing to him, but that could wait until we got out of here. As long as he could walk and run, then everything else can wait.

"What's it like, living here?" I asked, it was such a loaded question, but it could be seen as a normal question to anybody else.

"Alright I guess. I was much happier..." Harry caught sight of a guard, "At prep school, I had lots of friends around and all the rest. Here is a little remote for my tastes." _I miss home, and all of you boys. I want to get out._

"Oh I'm the same, school was much better than being at home. Friends and such are so much easier to get hold of when you all live in the same building." I laughed, _I miss you so much too, we all do. We're going to get you out, don't you worry._

The guard walked by, without so much of a suspicious look.

We talked some more, each question so loaded and so filled with hidden meaning. I wished we could talk openly, but this place was filled with so many guards and people who could over hear everything we said. It was better than nothing, better than not knowing anything, better than being so far removed from each other.

"So, I've got to make a move." I sighed, pretending to be upset; I was more scared than anything. This was go time, we were making a move. Crunch time. ready for action. All this planning coming to a head. Oh _f*ck._

"It is getting late. Shall I walk you out; make sure you don't get lost in this maze?" Harry suggested, fear starting to cloud his eyes. He was covering well, but I could see the fear there too.

"That would be wonderful." I grinned, hoping it didn't look too happy. Too happy was suspicious, we needed to be... sedate. Invisible. Quiet as the grave. Sneaky as a ninja. _Sh*t, sh*t, SH*T._

"Right this way." Harry started to lead me away, past guards, party goers and others. Harry's parents were nowhere to be seen, and I had no clue if that was a good thing or not. I counted it as good, I was sure I would crumble in front of them.

Down a corridor, through another ball room, out of the front door. Out. The. Front. Door.

We were making it, were we making it? Was this making it? It must have been, surely... we just had to get in the car and get out the gate. The guarded gate. But there was a plan. _Think of the plan, think of the plan._

Harry suddenly stopped dead in front of me.

"Dad." He whispered.

"Going somewhere Harry?" oh _sh*t._


	115. Chapter 115

**indigosky17 - We shall see if they've escaped or not very soon ;)**

113 Tom's POV

"They're not here yet." Danny paced back and forth in front of the window, looking out for the seventh time in the last five minutes.

It was now 8am in the morning, and we hadn't seen even a hint of Harry and Dougie, or even just one of them for that matter. There hadn't been any calls, or any texts, or the sign of a car coming, or anything for that matter. It was all... _silent._ And now it was getting a bit late into the morning, where the hell were they?!

"I'll text Dougie and Katherine, see if they have any news." I sent out a text to the two of them, see if either replied. Who knew, maybe they were held up in leaving, not you know... trapped in the house. God I prayed they weren't trapped, _please just be held up, please just be held up._

But would they really be delayed this much? And what could delay them this much? Had they been caught, and now Dougie was having to prove himself to be someone else? Was he being kept there to keep Harry company? Was there just some traffic on the roads? Surely we would have heard if there was _traffic!_

"Don't forget Thomas." Danny reminded me, so I added Harry's brother into the text list too.

Half an hour later, no reply. From anybody. All three were radio silent. I would have texted Harry too, but I knew that he certainly didn't have his phone on him right now, as it was sitting on our kitchen table. I tried phoning the other three too, and got nothing in return there either.

Where the hell were they? F*ck this was getting worrying, they couldn't be captured, could they? This couldn't have gone wrong, they couldn't have been captured... no... Please dear God don't tell me Dougie had been caught and was now stuck inside the mansion!

"Harry's dad will kill them if he finds out! He could actually kill them! He already hurts Harry, what will he do to Dougie?! He hates him; nothing will stop him from killing him, or at least seriously hurting him!" Danny's voice rose dangerously as he worried, every last inch of colour draining from his face.

"He won't... he won't kill him Danny. He... he can't kill them. He just... he will be..." _f*ck_ I had _nothing_ to argue with that. I had no reassurances or anything. Harry's dad was already proven to be beating Harry to sh*t right now, what would he do to Dougie?!

He didn't like Dougie, he had never liked Dougie! If he could beat up his own _son_ in anger, what would he do to someone he hated?! I couldn't imagine what he would do to our boy, our precious little bassist...

And what would he do to Harry once he found out about the escape attempt? God, I couldn't even imagine what he would dare to do to him when he found out about this! He would definitely think that Harry helped plan it, and even if he didn't, Harry would make him believe it if it saved Dougie. They'd never make it out of this unscathed if they'd been caught; never, ever make it out.

"There's no answer Tom! They must, they must have gotten captured! Or something's happened! Tom they're in so much danger, what do we do!?" Danny cried, hands shaking as he tried to hold onto me.

"I... I don't know." I didn't know, didn't have a clue. What could we do!? And we didn't have any confirmation that they were in danger anyway, we had nothing! Oh f*ck we had nothing, there was nothing we could do! If Harry and Dougie were in danger, there was nothing we could do to help them! We couldn't sneak in and get them, couldn't get Thomas or Katherine to help either, as they would have been discovered too by now!

The police didn't want to get involved, and Fletch wouldn't be allowed near the house to try and talk Harry's parents down! We had nothing, f*ck if Harry and Dougie were in trouble, we had nothing to help them. We were powerless.


	116. Chapter 116

114 Dougie's POV

Guards grabbed us both in the parking lot, the anger and seething rage on Harry's dad's face scaring me enough to not even struggle against the hold. He looked _angry,_ angrier than I had imagined possible.

Fear gripped my stomach at the thought, what was going to happen to us now? We had been caught, and Katherine had said that it wouldn't be pretty. _Oh God, oh God, we're f*cked!_

"Take them to the basement." The guards were ordered, the two of us getting dragged downstairs and thrown into a dark, damp, stone basement. It looked like something out of a horror movie. _F*ck, f*ck, f*ck, F*CK._

"Did you think you could come in here and steal my son away from me, huh? Did you really think you could _trick_ me into thinking you were anyone but yourself?" Harry's dad shoved me into a wall, his fist holding onto my shirt, knuckles pressing tight against my neck.

"Dad stop! Please, leave him alone!" Harry cried out, struggling against the guard holding him.

"I'm sorry! I'm sorry!" I whimpered, so scared. It had all gone wrong, it had gone so horrendously wrong and now I didn't know what to do!

"Oh you will be sorry." Harry's dad punched me in the stomach, all the air knocked from my lungs.

"Dad no! Please leave him alone! Take me instead!" Harry pleaded, voice rising up a notch.

"Quiet! Not a word from you!" Harry's dad hissed at his son, his never stopping their glare at me, "You really thought you could undermine me, huh? Sneak my insolent son out and never return him? You _really_ thought that that would work?" each question was accompanied by a kick to the ribs and a cry out from Harry.

I curled myself in a ball to protect myself from the blows, trying my best to keep myself small and quiet, not let Harry see the pain I was in. He couldn't see the pain, he'd gone through enough, making him feel guilty wouldn't help matters.

Maybe I'd just take a beating and be sent home. I could deal with that, could totally deal with that. Just a bit of a beating. Then I'd go home and somehow figure out a way to get Harry home too. I'd still rescue him somehow.

"Dad stop!" Harry shouted, he sounded hysterical.

"I said quiet!" his dad whipped round at his son, "I have done _everything_ for you since the day you were born, put you through good schools, paid for extra lessons, and given you _every_ opportunity to be a son I could be proud of. And _this_ is how you repay me? By falling for this vermin child and repeatedly disobeying me? And now trying to _escape_ with him in a terrible disguise? I've had it up to the back teeth with you! You knew the consequences of trying to escape, I told you time and time again. So now you're going to stand here and watch, maybe then you'll learn to behave!"

"W-What are you going to do to me?" I managed to whisper out, shivering in fear.

"Harry, tell him what I'm about to do. You're the one who got him into this mess after all." The seething rage turned into a wicked, evil smirk. Not good, this was most definitely not good!

"He... He... I'm sorry Dougie but he said... he said he'd hurt you. I-If I tried anything, he'd hurt you. I'm so sorry." Harry whimpered, tears streaming down his face.

Punches and kicks started to rain down on my body, hitting every available surface. I felt my ribs crack and my skin split open, my head slammed against the floor. Everything hurt; my entire body feeling like it was on fire. I couldn't hold back cries of pain, even when I tried to hold them in.

I took it as best as I could, holding in as much of the pained noises as I could, trying not to react to anything that happened. But it was so _hard_ to do. I was in agony, and not making a sound was torture. But it was nothing on the sound of Harry screaming and begging for his dad to stop, crying out that he'd take this instead, to hurt him instead. He was so scared, so, so scared. I never wanted to hear him sound that scared again.

All of his pleas were ignored, everything he said was ignored, the hits kept on coming, until eventually the world faded to black. The last thing I heard was Harry scream my name.


	117. Chapter 117

**Rose - thanks! And it's only going to be more intense!**

115 Harry's POV

"Dougie! Dougie no!" I screamed as Dougie's head hit the floor, his entire body falling still, "NO! No, let me go, let me go!" I struggled against the guard holding me in place, getting absolutely nowhere. I couldn't get out! I couldn't get to him! I had to get him and stop Dad from hurting my boy!

But as Dougie lay still, Dad stopped anyway, the whole room falling still and silent, watching Dougie's body. He looked dead. Pale skin, blood dripping from his nose, mouth, and several cuts on his face, arms starting to bruise. Not moving a muscle.

Holy sh*t, please don't let him be dead, God please _no,_ he couldn't be dead. He couldn't be dead! Not my Dougie, please, please, don't let my baby be dead, not my Dougie. Anybody but my Dougie! Me instead, take me instead, not him, not my precious boy, God no!

Slowly, Dougie's chest moved as he breathed in, I let out a sigh of relief. He was alive; oh thank _God_ he was alive. He didn't die, he couldn't have died, not today, not at the hands of the man I called my Dad.

"L-Leave him alone. Please, please leave him alone." I pleaded the man standing over my boyfriend, his hands still balled into fists.

"Give me one good reason to; give me _one_ good reason as to why I should stop now." Dad hissed at me, eyes murderous. I would have been angry, but I couldn't bring myself to be, not while I still felt so much despair at just the idea of losing my boy. I thought I'd lost him, I had thought I'd lost him. I couldn't lose him, not right now, not ever. I needed him to live, he gave me so much strength, I couldn't lose him.

"Not going to give me one? I'll take that as permission then." Dad turned back to Dougie.

"NO! No please no!" I cried out again, panicking. He couldn't end him! He couldn't! No please someone don't let him do this please!

"Wait!" Mum stopped Dad, stepping into the room. Dad stopped.

"Why should I?" Dad hissed again.

"We can use that kid as leverage. Harry's rather attached to him, I say we keep him alive, and down here in the basement. And if he goes a _toe_ out of line, then we can come down here and cause his precious boyfriend more harm." Mum answered, she wasn't... was she serious?! She was going use Dougie as a _bargaining_ chip against me?! To _this_ degree?! I thought... she wasn't... what had _happened_ to my mother!?

"Wait, no you can't! You can't do that! You... you... that's not fair!" I hadn't the words to argue, didn't have a clue on what to say. This wasn't my parents; these people could _not_ be my parents! They weren't like this, they weren't violent people! They wouldn't be doing this!

"No, what isn't fair is us giving you _everything_ and you throwing it back in our faces. You _will_ learn your lesson here young man, and if this is what it takes, then so be it." Mum glared at me, I felt my stomach churn at the look. Never had I seen such hatred in her eyes, especially not towards me.

I didn't have her even slightly in my corner anymore. I thought that maybe she would be able to talk some sense into Dad at some point, to stop him being so violent, it looked like that wasn't the case at all anymore.

"P-Please, you can't. You can't do this. He's just... he's just a _boy._ " I begged, Dougie was only nineteen years old, this _couldn't_ happen to him! This shouldn't be happening to him! Not because of me, not because of anybody! He should have been, he should have been anywhere but here.

"And so are you, yet you seem to know exactly what you were getting yourself into when you decided to argue with us." Dad answered, he had Dougie's blood on his knuckles. And his shirt. And his face. He was... he was covered in my barely-breathing boyfriend's blood.

"He's... He's only nineteen, please just let him go. I'll, I'll do anything. Just let him go." I'd do anything, just to make sure that Dougie was safe. I would do _anything_ to make sure he was safe from these monsters.

"Glad to see you're coming round to our way of thinking, but we'll be keeping him here as insurance of that promise." Mum turned to the guards, "Take him upstairs, get him in his room, we'll start work in the morning."

"What about the boy Ma'm?" the guard asked.

"Send in the doctor; make sure he's not seriously hurt. We need him alive." Mum ordered.

"And post a guard outside the room, make sure he's not up to any _funny_ business." Dad continued, before I was yanked away, the door slamming behind my parents, Dougie locked away from me.

He was unable to escape, unconscious and hurt in that cell. And there was no chance that he was going to be able to get out of this. Dougie was as trapped as I was now.


	118. Chapter 118

**Rose - yeah, they're not the nicest of people!**

116 Dougie's POV

I woke to the feeling of something soft wiping against my cheek. It stung whenever it touched me, but it was an almost _good_ kind of sting. It felt... clean, soft. Not, not like the hits Harry's dad had pummelled me with.

"Shh, shh, don't try to move, I haven't finished yet." A female voice whispered, I didn't recognise it, "You're going to be okay. I'm Hayley, the live in doctor, I got sent down here to help you. So far, I can see that you've broken you ribs and split you lip, and everything else is just bruised. You're lucky in that respect, it's all treatable and not life threatening, unlike the situation you're in."

Doctor? I didn't expect a doctor... I didn't know...

"Where's, where's Harry?" I croaked out, it hurt to talk.

"Shhh, don't talk for the moment. He's upstairs, in his room, and his parents aren't anywhere near him from what I can tell. He's safe for right now." The doctor answered.

"I, I was supposed to be, supposed to be saving him." I sat up, ignoring the pain shooting through my side, looking up at the woman helping me.

She was brunette, with kind eyes. Didn't look all too posh, or evil for that matter. She was looking at me with sympathy at the very least.

"Yeah, I'm afraid that didn't go very well. You got caught out, Mr Judd is a bit clever like that, he knows exactly what's going on in his house at all times. And when his daughter brings in someone she's never mentioned before, who hits it off with his 'delinquent' son straight away, he gets suspicious." The doctor sighed, "I commend you for trying though, it was a very noble thing to do, though rather stupid."

"I couldn't just leave him!" I leant against the stone wall, the cold numbing my spine.

"I know, and it was very good of you to try, but now you're also stuck here, being held as a bargaining chip against Harry. You're going to be punch bag number one, which isn't going to be helping anybody." She stuck a plaster over a cut.

"It's better than letting Harry get hurt." I wasn't about to let Harry live here and get hurt constantly, not when I could have helped it. I'd rather let myself get hurt than him.

"Physically yes, mentally no. But I can see your point... problem is, you're now both stuck here until someone else can hold a rescue operation." She pointed out.

"Sh*t." I hissed in pain as she poked at a rib.

"Sorry. But yes, it's going to be tough, these people are far too savvy and well known around here. They're likely to get off scot free, or even get away with not even getting investigated at all. So, I'm afraid you may be on your own in getting out of here." She sighed again, chewing on her lip.

"Can't you help?" surely she could, she seemed nice enough. Surely she could help! I could tell she didn't agree with what was going on around here at the least.

"All I can do is try to pass some messages between you and Harry, otherwise I'm afraid I'd get caught too. And this family has the power to fire me, and get me struck off the doctors register, which would ruin my life. I can help in small ways, patching you up and such, but other than that, I'm afraid I'm useless." She at least looked apologetic for it.

"It's not ideal, but I can do what I can. But it can't be much, in fear of losing my livelihood. I can keep you both alive, and send messages between you two, and possibly your friends too, but that is honestly it. I wish I could help more, but I can't." She whispered, footsteps heading down the stairs.

"Do as they say Dougie, they won't be afraid to kill you." She told me just as the door opened.

"How's the patient?" someone I presumed was a guard asked.

"A few broken bones, a lot of bruising, similar to Harry's previous injuries." Harry had had previous injuries like this? What were these people doing to him!?

"I recommend at least three days' rest, before the boss has a go on him again, and even then I wouldn't work him too hard. He'll be needing rest and at least some food. Make sure he gets it." she continued, voice not leaving room for argument.

"I shall see to it." the guard turned and left.

"Close call, now I don't know when I'll get down here again, but I'll try my best to visit once a day. If you're asked to do anything, just do it, alright? It'll be easier on you, and it may just keep you alive. I'll tell Harry that you're alright, and keep him out of as much trouble as possible... good luck." Hayley whispered and left, closing the door and locking it, leaving me alone in darkness.


	119. Chapter 119

117 Danny's POV

Hours passed, nobody arrived. Nobody called. Nobody texted. Nobody did _anything._ Harry and Dougie made no sign of appearing anywhere, and Thomas and Katherine didn't say a word either. Where the freaking hell was everybody?! Where the hell had they all gone!? They were supposed to be back by now, where were they?!

Oh God they'd been captured and taken, they'd been caught. _F*ck_ they'd been caught. I knew it; I knew that this was going to happen! Of course it was going to happen; this whole plan had been doomed from the start! Now Harry and Dougie were stuck in Harry's parent's mansion, having God knows what done to them! They were probably being hurt right now, or possibly killed! It felt like Harry's dad had no problems with hurting Harry, his own son, what would he do to someone he viewed as a danger to his son? Someone who was trying to break his son out, to take him away and 'corrupt' him!? He could easily decide to get rid of Dougie completely, and that could mean killing him!

Dougie was going to die, oh God, oh God Dougie was going to die and it was all our fault because we didn't back him up, we should have backed him up we should have gone with him at least one of us should have because now he was alone and scared and probably in pain and possibly dead and it was all our fault we should have gone we should have gone why didn't we go?!

"Danny, Danny, stop this, breathe. You're having a panic attack, you need to breathe." Tom grabbed my shoulders, forcing me to look at him. The light seemed to be getting darker around me, my knees weakening as my stomach churned.

"Now come on, breathe with me. In... and out... in... and out. That's it, breathe with me. In... and out..." Tom got me breathing with him, holding me up and refusing to let me fall over.

"It's okay, just keep breathing. We're going to get through this, alright? We'll get through this. I'm going to phone Fletch, and he'll know what to do, okay? First though, we're going to sit on the sofa together, and continue to breathe." Tom slowly walked us to the sofa, sitting me on it, letting me lay in his lap. I hadn't got the energy to stay upright, I was so tired, and so, so scared.

My stomach was churning, my hands shaking, my mind racing. I didn't know what was going on, where our friends were, what was happening to them. Our boys were missing, were in the belly of the beast with no back up, facing an incredibly violent man who had no issues with hitting his own son. Who knew what he would do to Dougie, let alone _Harry._ Harry was the one who had been trying to escape, had gone against his dad's orders, we didn't know what the hell he would do to him now because of this.

They could both die. Both of them could _die_ and we wouldn't even know it. This whole thing could have just cost us Harry and Dougie. We didn't know, and we had no way of knowing.

"Shhh, shhh." Tom stroked my hair gently, "Hey Fletch, it's me. We, er... we think we have a problem." He explained what had happened over the phone, cringing after he finished.

I couldn't hear the conversation properly, as the phone wasn't on speaker, but I caught words like 'idiot' 'what were you thinking' 'police' and 'are you insane.' That wasn't a good sign...

"What else were we supposed to do Fletch?! We couldn't just _leave_ Harry could we?! The police are doing _nothing_ to help right now, they're all sat on their asses, we had to do something!" Tom argued back, "I know it backfired, which is why we're calling you. But we could just sit around and wait for the police to do something, Harry could have been seriously injured in that time!"

"Yes I know that we now have to rescue two of them somehow. Yes I know this will be difficult. But how about if we _get the police involved_ again and see if they'll finally do something? We have proof that Harry's parents have taken _two people_ now, so how about if we actually _get them to investigate_ at last! You never know, they may _actually_ do something!" Tom ran a hand over his face, "I know, it wasn't our best idea. But we had no other choice. We weren't about to leave Harry in that mansion, not like that, not without trying ourselves... I'm sorry, but we weren't about to leave him. He's our brother, and we love him, leaving him wasn't an option. We thought this plan was a good one... sorry, can you just please help us? Please?" there was a pause.

"Thank you. Let us know how it goes." Tom sighed and turned off the call, "He's getting the police involved, and he's very, very angry with us, but he understands where we're coming from."

"We now just have to put our faith in the police getting them out." I really didn't want to leave it up to the police; they had so far been useless. I doubted that this would be any different. But if they proved to be useless, I didn't have a clue what we were going to do. They were currently our only hope.


	120. Chapter 120

118 Harry's POV

"Now here's this is going to work, I'm going to tell you _exactly_ what to do from now on, and if you don't follow those orders _to the letter_ that boy downstairs is going get hurt, alright? Every time you make a mistake, and I'll go down there and nearly knock the life out of him, so you better do as I say." Dad hissed in my face, I was too scared to say anything in return.

I couldn't believe... the beating he'd just given Dougie... it was... I couldn't... he was going to die here unless I did as Dad said. I had to follow his orders... but I couldn't... I didn't want to... but _Dougie._

"I said, is that understood?!" Dad shouted suddenly, making me leap feet.

"Y-Yes, it's u-understood." I nodded frantically; I couldn't slip up like that again, couldn't do something like that again. Dad would hurt Dougie, Dad couldn't hurt Dougie. Dougie would die, I couldn't have Dougie die on me, I really couldn't. Not my boy, not my special boy.

"Good, glad to see we're on the same page." Dad stood to his full height, towering over me as I cowered away in a corner, "We'll be starting tomorrow. I expect you up, dressed and acting like a _proper_ man by 8am sharp. Any later, and your _boy_ gets it." he swanned out of the room, slamming the door behind him so hard I swore the walls shook.

A second of silence passed, and then my whole body gave up, I crashed to the floor, shaking violently and sobbing hysterically, feeling physically sick. I couldn't make sense of what had just happened, I was... we'd been _so close_ to escape, and it had all gone wrong. Dad had us both in his grasp, and was so _angry,_ at us both. He had the best advantage now, he could get hurt Dougie every time I made a wrong move, he _would_ hurt Dougie every time I made a wrong move.

I had to do as he said; otherwise Dougie was going to die down there. And it was all my fault, all my damn fault. If I'd just, I could have just escaped on my own, or done as told, or _something,_ this wouldn't have happened. I could have left Dougie out of this completely, he could have been safe! And now he was stuck here with me, going to get _killed_ eventually because of my mistakes. He was so young, he was only _nineteen_ years old, and he was stuck here with me. He was stuck and it was all my fault, oh God it was _all my fault._ I had practically signed his death warrant, just by bringing him here. Oh God _why?_

"Hey, hey, whoa there, shhh Harry, shhh." A female voice whispered, arms encircling me.

"H-Hayley?" I didn't understand, why was Hayley in here?

"Yeah it's me; I snuck in on the pretence of making sure you're not trying to off yourself or something." Hayley stroked my hair, I clung to her, burying my head in her shoulder and _sobbing._ I was so scared, so, so damn scared, and I needed to hold onto someone. I wanted to be holding onto Dougie, more than anyone, but he was so far away and I couldn't get to him!

"Shhh, shhh, it's alright kiddo, it's all alright. Dougie's alive, and doing well all things considered. I was just down with him, I've cleaned him up." Hayley told me everything, whispering that she could be mine and Dougie's point of contact whenever we needed. She promised to look after my boy when I couldn't, that she would do her best to keep him as safe and healthy as can be.

"T-Thank you." I cried and hugged her, so _grateful_ that she would. I couldn't help Dougie, couldn't do anything but try to be good for my Dad. But she could help, Hayley was a doctor, she could patch him up when things went wrong, could give him meals, things like that. She could keep our line of communication open, she could _help_ us. I needed her to help us so badly, somebody _had_ to help us.

"No problem, now come on, let's calm down, take a deep breath, and go to sleep, alright? It's been a long day, and your dad is going to want you awake and ready to go tomorrow. You'll do well to try and sleep." Hayley pushed me into bed gently, pulling the covers around me like Mum used to do when I was a kid.

"Look after Dougie for me." I wanted her to promise, I couldn't do anything, but she could. She _had_ to promise to look after him, it was all I had.

"Of course, I'll look after _both_ of you, and get you through this any way I can." Hayley promised, slipping out the door, leaving me alone in my prison cell of a room, dreading what tomorrow would bring.


	121. Chapter 121

119 Dougie's POV

The basement was cold and empty, the door constantly locked, guard placed outside. A single light bulb hung from the ceiling, giving me a very weak light to see with. The corners were still in pitch black, and everything felt small and cramped, almost like the walls were caving in too close. And there was _nothing_ to distract myself with for most of my time there.

I was given food through a hatch twice a day, and was hauled out to go for a bathroom break in between. Hayley came and went, checking up on me whenever she could, but it wasn't often. She was almost banned from it in fact, was told to not go near me unless it was necessary. It made talking hard, as the guards were watching her. She got some messages through, but mostly she ended up working on me in silence.

It was _torture,_ to sit in this cell and wait for something to happen. I sure as hell couldn't escape from here, I was too heavily guarded, the door was locked shut with what sounded like a key _and_ several bolts. There were no escape hatches, or anything of the sort, inside this cell. I had _nothing;_ all I could do was wait. Wait for either a miraculous rescue, or for Harry's dad to come back to hit me again.

I knew it would happen, and probably soon too. Harry was so stubborn at times, and he had never agreed to any of his parents orders before. He shouldn't have been following them now either, and when he didn't, I was going to end up in the firing line. And I was fine with that, really, I was. I wanted Harry to fight this, wanted him to stay strong, not back down, show his parents that he was not their pawn in their game. I wanted him to show them that he was his own man, and that he wasn't going to let them win this.

But at the same time, I _really_ didn't want to get hit again, everything hurt so much right now. Everything _ached_ as it healed. It was still hard to breathe, even harder to move around. And if this was just a warning, I dreaded to think what Harry's dad could do when he was thinking of ways to punish his son. He'd clearly want to inflict the most amount of pain possible, and in the most effective ways. What that entailed, I was scared to think of. It would not be pleasant, that was for sure.

Harry wouldn't want me in pain either, he had been in a hell of a state the first time round, he wouldn't be any better any other beating either. So he was probably going to do as his parents said, and actually go through with whatever plan they had for him. Which meant growing up and becoming respectable. No more drumming, no more band, no more us. Harry was going to lose himself in all of this, _sh*t_ he was really going to lose himself. And there was nothing I could do to stop him, even if I told him to fight, he wouldn't dare.

If that happened, if he behaved, would I be let go? If he reached a certain level of respectability, would I be allowed out of here? Or would I be kept as a constant warning, one slip up and I get it? I didn't know, wasn't sure I _wanted_ to either. Jesus, I knew _nothing_ in this situation, had no idea how this was going to end for us. All I knew was that Harry had to behave, or I was going to be hurt, and I couldn't escape. We were going to have to rely entirely on Tom and Danny to work out how to get us out of here. And if they didn't, we were stuck here.

Stuck here, unable to see each other, or speak face to face, forced into submission indefinitely. I couldn't think of anything worse.


	122. Chapter 122

120 Harry's POV

I was showered, dressed and down stairs by half seven in the morning, not risking being late by even a minute. Dougie's life depending on me being good, I _had_ to be good, had to do as Dad said. If I put a single foot wrong, that was it. Dougie would be for it. I'd never forgive myself if he got hurt again, not like last time, not like that ever again.

Without realising it, I was shaking violently. I hadn't a clue on what was going to happen to me now. Dad hadn't seen anything about his plans for me, what he wanted me to do or if he was taking me somewhere. I didn't have any idea at all! He could be making me do anything, and I was scared of what it was.

What if he wanted me to go away to school? Or go to work at his company? I didn't want to do that! And even if I was left alone, I couldn't escape! Escaping meant that Dougie would still be here, and Dad could do _anything_ to him in revenge. I was relying entirely on Tom and Danny to get us out safely now, and who knew when that would be? The only thing I could do to help us right now was to do as much of what Dad said as possible, without endangering Dougie.

"Harry!" Katherine raced over, to give me a hug, "I'm sorry, I'm so sorry about yesterday. We tried to keep him out, tried to be discreet."

"It's okay, the plan was bound to fail anyway." I sighed, hugging her back, appreciating the affection.

"We tried so hard though, we were going to get you out, I'm so sorry that we've made it worse." Katherine whispered.

"I don't blame you, I swear. It wasn't your fault. But we still have Tom and Danny who can help, them and Fletch. They will think of something." I had to believe that, had no choice in whether or not I believed. Tom, Danny and Fletch _had_ to save Dougie and me, we couldn't stay here forever.

"I hope they do, I will never forgive myself if you never get home." Katherine broke away as footsteps started in the hallway.

Looking over, it was Mum coming in. She gave us a suspicious look, but didn't seem all too bothered; instead she fixed her eyes closely on me, taking in everything.

"Oh Harry, you finally look respectable, it's such an improvement on before!" she smiled, both me and Katherine winced at the back handed compliment.

"Not like there's much of a choice." Katherine glared at our mother; I elbowed her in the side, glaring at her. What was she thinking?! Was she _trying_ to endanger Dougie's life?! We couldn't risk comments like that! Not while Dougie was in the balance!

"Don't say things like that Katherine, we only have Harry's best interests at heart. It's not our fault that that _boy_ has managed to brainwash you both into thinking that he's a nicer boy than he is." Mum answered, scooping up the food on offer.

I resisted saying anything to that, and glared at my sister to warn her against saying anything either. We had to be _quiet_ and to say the right things. For Dougie's sake, he needed to _heal_ and be kept _safe._ And that meant not saying anything.

Katherine luckily didn't say anything, but she did give our mother a filthy look. Mum didn't notice, or if she did, she didn't mention it. I was grateful for that; I'd rather have not started the day with an argument. Or at least, not one _quite_ yet.

And then, there was the sound of footsteps down the hall again. And there was only one person it could be now. The man I was dreading seeing... _Dad._

"Good, you decided to follow orders." Dad seemingly approved, I didn't reply, not wanting tempt fate.

But would that anger him more? I didn't know if not saying anything would anger Dad more than saying something! Oh God I didn't know!

"W-What are we doing today?" I whispered, trying my best to not stutter. I failed miserably.


	123. Chapter 123

121 Dougie's POV

The basement was so dark, so damn dark, all the time. I only had a small light to see with, but it was artificial. I couldn't tell how much time passed, what day it was, or anything of the sort. There was _nothing_ to keep track of time with, the only thing that vaguely helped were the meals I was given. But it felt like they were being given to me at random, whenever someone remembered. It didn't feel clockwork, _nothing_ felt clockwork. It was all endless, silent and still.

I tried my best to keep sane, to track my meals and my sleep to figure out what day it was, but I got nowhere with it. I hadn't got anything I could use to make a mark, or anything to write _on._ There was nothing, I had nothing. Everything was just so _quiet;_ there was no telling what was going on in the outside world.

And trust me, I tried to get something from someone, but it was so hard. The guards were always outside, not facing me, and the person who brought my food never spoke either.

"P-Please, please just talk to me. Please." I begged them uselessly, tears running down my face, but nobody ever replied. Nobody talked, or reacted. They only ever touched me when they had to drag me to the bathroom each day. Other than that, they didn't interact with me at all.

I was going mad with it, wanting desperately wanting to talk to someone, to know what was going on in the outside world. Was Harry okay? What was his dad making him do? Was he safe? Were Tom and Danny trying to get us out of here? Was there any plan whatsoever to help us?

I needed to know, wanted someone desperately to tell me what was going on. But nobody said a word. Hayley was the only one who talked, and even she couldn't say much.

"Harry's not injured. He's as safe as can be, but he's worried about you." She whispered, shining a light in my eye. It burned.

"Where, where is he?" I needed to know where he was, I _had_ to know that he was safe.

"Still in the house. Don't worry, he's still here, and is doing as told." Hayley promised, feeling around my neck, "I told him you're healing well, he's comforted by that."

"Doing what?" Harry had to be doing something; he wouldn't be simply _kept_ here. He had to be doing something deemed important. But what? What was he doing?

"Studying by the looks of it. Finishing his A levels or something. He can't go anywhere without the risk of running off, not that he would with you at risk, but he's staying here." Hayley answered, checking something or other in my arms as she did.

"A prisoner in his own house." Just like he'd been for months. A prisoner, unable to get out of his own house. At least he could see the sunlight, and was talked to, and could keep track of time.

"Basically yes, but he's treated a bit better, I promise you that." Hayley sighed, that knowledge didn't help. None of it helped. We were trapped here, inside this house, with the constant fear of being hurt and God knows what else hanging above us.

"I, I need to get out. We need to get out." We had to get out of here, _had_ to get out of here. It wasn't safe, neither of us were safe! Harry could be shipped off somewhere at any point, and his dad could decide to dispose of me whenever he wished! We couldn't stay here!

"You will, I'm sure your friends are working on it. They're going to get you both out as soon as possible. Just hold on okay? It's hard, but hold on." Hayley encouraged, standing up.

"No, don't go! Please, please don't go!" she couldn't go! She couldn't leave me! I didn't want to be alone again, I couldn't be alone again!

"I'm sorry, but I have to. I'll be back again tomorrow, alright?" Hayley gave me a sad look and left, the door slamming behind her and the bolt locking it into place.

Nobody could stay, or tell me anything. Not even Hayley, who promised me she would help. The guards watched over her whenever she came in, she couldn't tell me _anything_ in fear of being taken away from me too. She could only look me over and then leave, even when I begged her to stay.

"Please Hayley! Please!" I sobbed as she left again, reaching out for her, but I was too far away. I felt too weak to stand, but I had to try! I couldn't be alone here! Not anymore! I had to get out! Someone had to get me out of here!


	124. Chapter 124

122 Tom's POV

The house was so _quiet_ without Harry and Dougie here. It felt like all the life and sounds from the house had been sucked out, even with me and Danny here. It just... it didn't feel _right,_ for it just to be the two of us. We needed Harry and Dougie, they were the life and soul of this house, it was _wrong_ without them.

Hours could pass without a word being said between us, days dragged on endlessly, filled with worry. The phone rang daily, Fletch giving us updates on his own search for our missing boys, though he was never getting very far. Dougie's mum phoned sometimes too, trying her hardest to keep it together. We warned her against going to Harry's parent's mansion, knowing it wouldn't end well for her either. The press circulated articles about us, wondering where we were. I refused to let us go and do an interview, we would be ripped to shreds in the state we were in now.

Everything continued to drudge on, no news in sight, no light at the end of the tunnel. The only thing keeping us going was hope. And that hope was dwindling fast.

"Do you think they're okay?" Danny asked over breakfast, poking at his cereal instead of eating it.

"I don't know Dan, I hope so." I didn't want to give him false hope, but I couldn't think of anything else to say. We didn't have a clue about what Harry and Dougie were going through right now, we didn't even know if they were both still _alive._ But I couldn't tell Danny that, now could I? I couldn't voice his fears; confirm that it was a possibility! He was so scared, so damn scared. I couldn't possibly make things worse for him.

"They won't be together." Danny sighed; I reached out and held his hand, hoping it helped in some way or other.

"Probably not." there was nothing else I could say to that, not really.

"Do you... Do you think we'll ever see them again?" Danny whispered, his hands starting to shake as he asked.

"Of course! Of course we will, we'll get them both back, I promise. We're going to get them both back, no matter what." I couldn't help but lie now, watching Danny shake like that, his entire body slumped over in defeat. It wasn't... I couldn't do it. I could _not_ watch my Danny look like that. It was wrong, and painful, and I really, really could not do it.

"But, but what if we don't? Tom they're stuck in that house with Harry's _dad,_ who's already beaten the sh*t out of him! What will he do now!? What will he do to Dougie in revenge? We could... We may never see them again." Danny's voice cracked, tears spilling down his cheeks as he sobbed hysterically.

"Oh baby, no, no that won't happen. They're not; they're not going to die out there." I pulled my poor boy into my arms, letting him sob into my chest, holding my back my own tears. I had to be the strong one right now; I couldn't cry too, it wouldn't be fair. One of us had to stay in control; I was going to stay in control right now. I had to do it, nobody else could.

"But, but..." Danny tried to speak, his breath starting to speed up. He was getting panic attacks again over all of this, and it broke my heart to see it. He'd just gotten them under control, and now his hard work was ruined again.

"Shhh, no baby, no. Don't think like that. We're going to get them out, alright? Fletch is working on it, we're going to get them both out, don't worry. We're going to rescue them and bring them both home, alive and well, alright? I won't accept anything less than that." I promised, I wouldn't accept any sort of failure. We were going to get Harry and Dougie out safely, they were going to be alive and as well as possible.

We would bring them back. We had to bring them back. There was no other option, I wouldn't let there be another option. They were coming home, they _had_ to come home.


	125. Chapter 125

123 Harry's POV

Dad set me to work straight away, starting with making me study for my A Levels again. He was _obsessed_ with it, forcing me to play catch up with it all because I had never finished them in the first place, due to joining McFly. His reasoning was that he 'wasn't going to have a son who only had the most basic qualifications' and that 'nobody was going to hire me without at least A Levels.'

Well maybe I didn't _want_ to be hired by anybody, maybe I wanted to stay as a drummer in a band, because that was what I _loved to do._ I loved drumming, being with my boys, making music, playing shows. I was _happy_ doing that, it was the best job in the world, and I didn't want to change that. Besides which, it was the only thing I was any good at. I was awful at basically everything else; I had trouble spelling, adding up, and just about everything academic. But Dad was having none of it, he wouldn't even let me try and pursue being a cricketer, or being a drummer in an orchestra. He wanted me to settle down and do something he deemed respectable. God knows what that was going to be, seeing as _I had no interest in it._

"How is Harry's progress?" Dad asked the tutor he had hired to sit with me for _eight hours a day_ to try and catch me up. It was tedious, and boring, and really, really wasn't working.

"Currently we are doing very well Sir, I have marked all the previous assessments and Harry's doing very well in his refresher courses." The tutor smiled politely, really though, my results weren't that good. Mostly because I wasn't trying, hoping it would somehow help me to show Dad that I really wasn't built for this. If I could just convince him to let me go to some cricket team try outs or _something,_ I could get the word out that Dougie and I were in trouble. I just needed to get the word out, the rest would sort itself, I just had to tell someone who could help. But for that, I needed to leave the house, and that wasn't possible if Dad was stuck on the idea of me being taught academic stuff.

"Good, that's what I like to hear." Dad smiled for the first time in what felt like forever. It was weird to see him smile nowadays, he was usually too busy giving me angry glares and throwing insults and threats my way.

Though that looked turned into an icy glare the second he clapped eyes on me.

"What do you think you're doing?!" he hissed immediately

"What? I'm not doing anything, apart from trying to study!" I wasn't doing anything, I swear! I was just sitting there and doing as told!

"Don't lie to me; you're doing that _thing_ with your pen!" Dad pointed at my hand... I'd been unconsciously twirling my pen like I would with a pair of drum sticks. _Sh*t._ "What did I tell you about that?! I told you to stop with all of these thoughts of being a drummer, you are _not_ a drummer anymore Harry!"

"I'm sorry! I didn't... I wasn't trying to drum, it's an unconscious motion!" I swore it was unconscious thing, I wasn't doing it on purpose, I wasn't that stupid! I wasn't stupid enough to do that! I wasn't, I wasn't stupid! I wasn't going to risk Dougie, never like that, never, ever like that!

"Are you trying to wind me up Harry? I have told you time and time again that you won't be drumming ever again!" Dad shouted, f*ck, f*ck, F*CK!

"I'm not, I'm not I swear! It was an unconscious thing! I won't do it again! I promise I won't do it again!" I wouldn't, not again, never again! Not until this was over, when Dougie and I were out of here!

"You better not young man, or so help me God you will live to regret it." Dad hissed in my face, hands clenching into fists in a clear indication of just _who_ would be on the receiving end of his wrath.

"I-I'm sorry, I won't do it again. I swear I won't do it again." I prayed that he believed me; _please don't punish Dougie for this, please, please, PLEASE._

"See to it that you don't. I won't tolerate such insolence in this house." Dad stormed off, luckily not towards the stairs to the basement.

I slumped in my chair, trying very, very hard to stop shaking.


	126. Chapter 126

124 Dougie's POV

Days past and nobody but Hayley visited me. I was kept in near darkness, with no-one to talk to, and it was driving me _crazy._ I was so alone, so damn alone.

At least this meant that Harry's dad wasn't beating me, I didn't know if I could deal with another beating like the first one. It had _hurt_ so much, I still ached now after it, had nightmares about it happening again. But because he wasn't beating me, that meant that Harry was following his dad's orders. And if he was following his dads orders, that meant that he was miserable. I didn't want him miserable, being forced into whatever he was being forced to do.

According to Hayley he was studying for qualifications, which wasn't too bad. But where would that lead? University? A job? Where would he go? Where would Harry be taken, what would he doing? Would he be able to escape? Would _I_ be able to escape? I felt like I wouldn't, felt like I would be disposed of the second Harry left to go somewhere else.

The thought scared me. Actually, it _terrified_ me. I didn't want to even think of what would happen to me when Harry got allowed out into the world. Surely the family wouldn't keep me around as human evidence, and wouldn't want to keep feeding and looking after me as they were right now. I shuddered at the thought, feeling my blood turn to ice in fear of that moment. It was coming, I could feel it, the minute Harry was back to where his family wanted him, I was for it.

I seriously hoped that Tom, Danny and Fletch could save us before it got even close to that moment. They had to have a plan, or at least an idea on what to do. They did have a plan, right? They always had plans; we all had plans in the making. So surely they were thinking of something...

But Thomas and Katherine couldn't help, they were probably being watched even more closely than before, after their involvement in this rescue mission. So Tom and Danny didn't have their help, did they even know what was going on?! Obviously they knew that we were missing, but did they know anything else? Oh f*ck please tell me that they knew what was going on in here?

The door suddenly creaked open, revealing Hayley.

"Evening meal time." She smiled a bit, handing me a plate of food.

"Please, please help us. Tom, Tom and Danny, they don't know. They don't know what's happening. They need to know!" I begged her, she was our only hope, she promised to help! She had to help us!

"I know, I know, I'm trying." Hayley whispered, "It's hard, we're all being watched."

"You need to help! Please!" I was desperate, she had to do _something,_ we couldn't stay here! "I'm going to die here, I'm going to die." I was nineteen years old, I didn't want to die. Especially not just for love, I didn't want to die because someone decided I couldn't be with the man I loved.

We weren't supposed to die here; we were supposed to be together, forever. I wanted to marry Harry, to grow old with him, to carry on in our band forever. This wasn't supposed to happen to us. We were supposed to be _happy._ Parents weren't supposed to do things like this; they were supposed to be loving and kind, accepting of our love. Parents were supposed to be happy when you were happy. They weren't supposed to judge and do this, just because their son was in a band and dating someone from a different social class. It wasn't right, it wasn't right in the slightest!

Hayley looked shocked for a few seconds, staring at me as her eyes teared up a bit. But she shook herself, reaching out to briefly squeeze my hand.

"You're not going to die here, alright? You will _not_ die here, I won't let it." Hayley whispered, "Now shut up and grow a pair, you're here because your stupid drummer couldn't do as his parents said." She said louder, winking at me, so I knew it was an act to appease the guards.

She then turned and left, closing the door behind her, leaving me to shake and cry in a corner, wishing more than anything that she would help.


	127. Chapter 127

125 Harry's POV

I was terrified to do anything, so damn scared to make a wrong move that would cause Dad to get angry again. He was so easy to anger right now, if I couldn't even twiddle my _pen_ without angering him, what could I do? There wasn't much, and I was _terrified_ that I'd make another wrong move.

I was doing my best, getting up right one time, dressing on Dad approved clothes, not saying anything unless spoken to, going through my lessons without moaning. Other than that, I did nothing else, in absolute fear. Dad approved, but he still found ways to criticise me. Whether it be that I used a piece of slang by accident, put my elbow on a table, or simply looked _wrong_ somehow, Dad always had something to pick holes in. I tried my best, honestly I tried _so hard_ to avoid his anger, but it was so difficult, everything I did was wrong according to him; literally everything I did was wrong.

"Do you want me to go hurt that _boy_ downstairs? Do you need to be taught a lesson?" Dad shouted, after catching my elbow resting on the table again.

"No Dad! You don't need to do anything like that!" I cried out, desperate to keep myself from trembling.

"Well it feels like this is the only way to get you to learn! You are constantly disappointing me with your insolence, you never listen!" Dad backed me into a corner, and I couldn't hold back the shakes anymore. I was so _scared,_ I was trying my best, but I forgot! I didn't mean to forget! Dougie didn't deserve my punishment, he really didn't! He couldn't... Dad couldn't do this! God please, not again.

"I'm trying! I swear I'm trying! Dad please, don't hurt him! I'll do better!" I pleaded, praying someone would come and help. Mum was just watching from the sides! She wasn't doing anything! Why couldn't she do anything?! Why wasn't she doing anything?!

"You keep on saying that and you're not doing anything! You repeatedly disobey and do absolutely nothing of what I tell you to do!" Dad shouted, advancing further on me.

"I do! I'm on time and I do all the work you tell me to do! I dress as I should and everything else!" I defended myself.

Pain suddenly radiated across my cheek as Dad slapped my across the face, my head whipping to the side with the force of it.

"Don't you _dare_ try and act like you're a saint in this." Dad hissed, "You know that _you're_ the wrong one, and don't you dare try and act like you're not. I will not stand you talking back to me. Or anything of the sort. Do it again and that boy in our basement will be _for_ it."

With that, he stormed off, luckily not in the direction of the basement, more towards his office.

"Oh Harry, you really shouldn't be antagonising your father like that." Mum sighed after his office door slammed.

"I just put an elbow on the table." I whispered, unable to understand how just that had caused so much anger.

"Yes, and that is horrible manners Harry. We have told you this repeatedly, and yet you still don't understand." Mum gave me such a look of disappointment.

"I... I tried, I tried so hard." I had been trying so hard, so damn hard, to be good. Couldn't that be appreciated?

"Not good enough Harry. You have to actually start obeying our rules, or that boy downstairs is going to be injured more, and that's something you don't want." Mum told me, "We raised you better than this Harry, start acting like it." with that, she left too, leaving me alone in the dining room, whole body still shaking in fear.

Slowly, my legs gave out, leaving me to slide down the wall and fall into a heap on the floor. My whole body was shaking hysterically in fear; I couldn't believe that this had happened, that this was what my life had become. I was trying my best, frantically trying to remember every rule I had learnt as a child, but there were so _many,_ I couldn't remember it all, no matter how hard I tried. I was trying my best, but it was so difficult.

If I didn't try though, Dougie was in danger, I was towing the line and only just about avoiding Dougie getting beaten for my mistakes. If I made one wrong turn, did one thing that Dad viewed as worse than everything else, I was so scared of the pain Dougie would be in. He couldn't be hurt like that, God he wouldn't survive. I had to be good, but nothing was good enough. I was scared that I never would be.


	128. Chapter 128

126 Dougie's POV

It felt like all I did was sleep in this tiny cell, curled up on my least painful side, still half awake and ready for whatever was thrown at me next. Even though I had been left alone for so long, I was so scared that at any minute I would be beaten again for one of Harry's mistakes. I had no idea what was going on up there, Hayley didn't tell me much during her visits, and nobody else talked to me, so I had to guess and hope. All I could do was hope that everything was okay, and try to relax enough to sleep and heal.

My pain levels weren't as bad as before, as I had been healing well, according to Hayley. But it still hurt to breathe in sometimes, as well as lay on my right side, the ribs weren't healing as well as they should have been, because of the conditions I was being kept in. But Hayley said it was nothing to worry about, but I wasn't sure whether or not to believe her. She could have been lying to keep me calm, or trying to stop me from injuring myself more somehow. I did try to believe her though, she was the only nice person in this house apart from Harry, I needed someone to be kind to me, and tell me the truth.

"How is he?" I whispered as she came in again, holding a plate of containing an apple, a chopped up carrot and baked potato. It was my standard meal here, and it left me _starving_ for most of the day.

Hayley didn't answer straight away, just started to check me over.

"Hayley, talk to me, please. I need to know." I begged her, not liking this silence. Did it mean that Harry was in trouble? Was something bad happening upstairs? Oh God, what was his dad doing to him?! I thought he was supposed to be punishing me, not Harry! What was he keeping me for if he wasn't using me as a punch bag?!

"Give me a second." She whispered, waiting for the door to be closed by a guard, "Now we're alone, but I only have a few minutes, so listen up." this couldn't be good...

"Harry's doing his _best,_ alright? I need you to understand that he is doing everything he possibly can to be good for his parents and to not piss them off. But it's getting harder, they have huge expectations of him and he sometimes forgets the rules and they're getting angrier. His dad is getting close to coming down here, Harry's managed to stop him up until now, but I'm not sure how much more fight he's got in him. So I would prepare yourself, alright? I'm so sorry to tell you to do this, but prepare yourself. I have a horrible feeling that he's going to come down here and beat the living daylights out of you, and it's not going to be pretty." Hayley explained, oh _sh*t._

I didn't know how to process this, didn't know what to do to prepare myself for whatever was coming. How did I prepare for a beating? I couldn't exactly try to escape, or arm myself, or anything! What was I going to do?! And what was _Harry_ going to do if he saw what happened to me in the end? Or what was he doing now, with all this pressure on him?! What did we do!?

"I'm so sorry Dougie; I wish it was better news. But it isn't I'm afraid, you're going to have to be brave, alright? I'm going to be right here for you, as much as I can. I'll patch you up and give you pain medications to ease your pain, and I'll keep Harry from tearing himself apart over it. But you're going to have to brace yourself. Protect your head with your arms, your chest with your legs. Anything you break, I will fix, and you'll be okay in the end. If I could do more, I would, but I can't I'm afraid. I'm doing my best to keep you both safe, and I will stop you both from dying, or being severely injured. That's all I can do, I'm so sorry." Hayley rushed to say, raising her hand to rest it on my cheek, "I'll make sure you're both okay, I promise. I'm going to make sure you _both_ make it."

The door opened, the guard grunting at her to get out, her time was up.

"Remember what I said Dougie, brace yourself, and I'll keep you both as safe as possible." Her hand fell away from my face, and as I watched her leave, I felt tears start streaming down my face.

I was scared, I was so _damn_ scared. After what happened after that first beating, I was so scared of what was going to happen to me now, it could have been anything! It could have been literally anything; I didn't know what Harry's dad would plan to do to me! I couldn't do anything to save myself, and Harry couldn't save me either! He couldn't keep up with the goody-two-shoes act for too long, he was going to break, and it was going to break _me._ I wasn't ready, I would never be ready.

I was so scared, I wasn't ready, I didn't know what to do. Oh God _what did I do!?_


	129. Chapter 129

127 Danny's POV

"Please, you have to help. We're begging you, please help." I pleaded, the police had to help, they _had_ to. They couldn't ignore the fact that Harry and Dougie had been _taken_ from us, and Harry's parents were behind it. It was so obvious, so blatantly obvious, they couldn't ignore it!

"Do you have any proof that this house is where they are or that Harry's parents are the ones behind this disappearance? You have all been down here so often, and yet you never bring us any viable evidence." The officer asked, why couldn't he just believe us and go check out the house?! Surely it wasn't the hard?!

"There's the letters, and the texted messages." Tom answered, squeezing my hand, "And the fact that Dougie disappeared after going into Harry's parents house."

"Right, anything else?" the officer looked bored, he couldn't be bored! This wasn't a time to be bored! He had to help! This was a matter of life and death!

"Isn't that enough?" I didn't understand why that wasn't enough! We had been down here so damn often, why couldn't the police believe us and go and get Harry and Dougie out?! It had been _three months;_ couldn't they see that we were desperate?!

"The letters didn't have any fingerprints apart from yours on them, so they could be from anyone. The texts were from a prepaid phone with no name attached to it. And the fact that your friend disappeared when he left to get your other friend is rather circumstantial too, are you sure they didn't concoct a plan to run away together?" the officer asked, how could she say that? How could she possibly say that?

"Harry and Dougie would _never_ run away and leave us like that! They love us, they would have talked to us, not just run away like this!" they would have never have done that to us, it was insane to even think so!

"They really wouldn't do this to us, they're our best friends. If they wanted to leave, they would have talked to us, instead of doing this." Tom put his hand on my leg, keeping me sitting down.

"Even with everything that has gone on recently? Harry recently has been the subject of a lot of media attention recently, are you sure he isn't running away to escape it, and Dougie has gone with him?" she wasn't serious... she could not be serious.

"No, no seriously, they wouldn't do that to us. They would never do that to us. They're... we're a unit, we tell each other everything. If Harry or Dougie wanted to leave, they would have said something. And Harry was coping really well, he was stressed yes, but he was more worried because of the threatening letters and texts." Tom explained, "You have to believe us, Harry and Dougie wouldn't do this to us. They've been forcibly taken from us, by Harry's parents. Please, can you just go to their house and see if you can find any evidence?"

"Please, can you go there and check? Nobody has gone to check the house, you'll find evidence there, I swear you will. We're begging you, just go to the house and check." I was so desperate here, I wanted my friends back, wanted them to _come home._ It was getting worse every day. We didn't know what was happening to our friends, even if they were still alive. I needed to know, needed to bring them home safely. I couldn't... not knowing was torture, not having them here was torture.

I couldn't take this pain, this separation. Harry and Dougie needed to be safe, and they weren't safe where they were. This officer had to believe us and bring our boys home. They had to. I couldn't stand the idea of leaving them for much longer. They had to come home now.

"Okay, fine. I'll see what I can do. But I can't many any promises, alright? I will send an officer down to the house, to see if they can see anything out of the ordinary." The officer sighed, writing something down on the file.

"Really? Thank you, thank you so much! You're the first one to believe us, thank you!" I grinned; finally someone was going to do something about this! They'd see that something was wrong and bring our boys home! Finally!


	130. Chapter 130

128 Harry's POV

With my shaking hand, I continued to solve maths problems, praying I got them right so I didn't make Dad any angrier. I daren't make a single mistake, even with this work, in fear of him hurting Dougie. I didn't want to even think of what he'd do. He'd hurt my boy, God he's hurt my boy _so badly,_ and I never wanted that. Especially not over a simple mistake in a maths problem. Never anything like that.

"Breathe Harry; you won't work anything out while you're stressed." My tutor was saying, I bit my tongue against saying anything rude at her, in fear. If I was scared to even get a question wrong, no way was I about to start being rude to my _tutor._

"I'm fine, I can do this." I wrote down another number, trying desperately to stop my hand shaking.

"Alright, but take your time. There is no rush here." She smiled at me, rubbing my back.

Just as she did that, the door rang. We both looked up, and that's when I noticed that there was a police car outside.

My breath caught in my throat when I saw it. Had Tom and Danny finally convinced the police to come and rescue us? Was this something to do with them? Oh my God were we finally getting rescued?!

Dad stormed into the room, freezing when he saw the car outside, and the policeman standing at the door. He snapped out of it as the door bell rung again, rounding to glare at me.

"Do not move, do not speak, do not do _anything,_ or I will go downstairs and kill that bassist of yours, got it?" Dad hissed straight away, "Guard, get downstairs and stand by the boy. If you hear _anything_ out of the ordinary, or if the kid tries to escape, then kill him."

"Dad, no, please don't do that!" he couldn't, he couldn't threaten to kill him like this! Please God no! If this policeman was here to get us out, Dougie was going to die, _sh*t._

"I can and I will. You are _mine,_ and you're not going anywhere. If something so much as _hints_ of your friends being behind this, then your boy is _for_ it." Dad growled, "Now behave, don't say a word, not a _peep_ unless spoken to."

"I-I won't. I won't I swear." I wouldn't say a word, not one word.

"You better not. Or you will _never_ see your boy again." Dad warned, storming over to the door and opening it to the officer.

"Hello officer, is something the matter?" Dad changed immediately, back to the respectable man everyone else knew him as. His back straightened, his anger disappeared, and he was replaced with a man who was kind and caring. He looked like the man I grew up with, the man who loved me, who used to encourage me in everything I did. The man who got choked up on my first day of school, helped me with my homework, bought me my first drum kit. I missed that man, missed him _so much._

"Hello Sir, sorry to bother you, but I'm here because of an allegation about you and your wife, about your son." The officer explained, Tom and Danny had gotten the police to listen! This was great! But awful, I couldn't say anything! Bl**dy hell I couldn't do anything! This wasn't... I couldn't do anything to save us both! What did I do!?

"An allegation? What kind, I assure you we haven't done anything wrong." Dad looked over to me, "And Harry has been here the whole time, he couldn't have done anything wrong either." There wasn't a hint of warning in his voice, but the message was still clear to me.

"Oh I'm sure it's nothing too, but it's routine to check up on these things, even when they're preposterous." The officer laughed, "May I come in? This won't take long; I just need to ask your son a couple of questions." Oh God, _oh God, oh God, oh God._

This wasn't good, this really wasn't good. I couldn't answer truthfully! Not without risking Dougie's life, and this time it was a very real threat! A guard was down there right now, oh God I couldn't make a single mistake right now because Dougie could die. There was a guard downstairs with Dougie _right now,_ ready to kill him! I couldn't say a wrong word, or Dougie would be dead, I couldn't be the cause of Dougie's death, I couldn't, I couldn't!

"Of course. Come in, Harry's just having a tutoring session right now, but that can wait for a while." Dad ushered the man in, giving me a glare over his shoulder. If I said a word, I was going to cause Dougie's death. Oh _f*ck,_ this wasn't going to end well!


	131. Chapter 131

129 Dougie's POV

Footsteps creaked on the floorboards above us; the sound of Harry's dad assuring the officer that everything was fine here could be heard. But down here in the basement, the only sound that could be heard was our breathing, and the whimpers I couldn't help but let escape from my covered mouth.

"Shut up, do you want to have your throat slit?!" the guard holding me hissed in my face, his hand pressing harder.

I shook my head frantically, trying desperately to _shut up,_ but I couldn't help it. I was scared, I was _so damn scared._ I couldn't make a sound, couldn't make any sudden movements, couldn't do anything but pray that Harry didn't do anything stupid. If he did, it would be the end of me. The guard had warned me that one false move, from either me or Harry, would end in my death.

I was seventeen years old, I didn't want to die.

"Do you know who sent in the complaint?" Harry's dad was saying upstairs, his voice muffled by the ceiling, but I could just about make out what he was saying.

"I'm afraid I'm not allowed to say anything Sir. It's confidential you see." The officer explained, his footsteps following the man behind all of this.

"I see, that makes sense I guess, wouldn't want anybody going out and seeking _revenge_ on someone, would we?" the threat was clear, I gulped at the meaning behind it. Lord knew what Harry was feeling because of it.

"Yes, it saves a lot of trouble in the long run. All I can say is that a complaint was made." The officer replied, he sounded rather happy. How could he not see that something wrong?! Couldn't he see how Harry was acting? Couldn't he hear it in that evil man's voice? How could he not see it?! It was obvious, wasn't it!?

"That is fair enough. Though if I could give a word of advice, if the complaint came from Harry's old associates, those band members of his, please do feel free to take it with a pinch of salt. His friends have proven rather... _difficult,_ since his decision to leave them. They have been trying to say that I have kidnapped my son for months now, when I have done no such thing, Harry's come here of his own free will, isn't that right Harry?" His dad continued, I could imagine the look Harry was getting right now.

"Of course it is, yeah I left of my own free will. I got bored with the band, so I left. They're just having a bad time accepting that right now, especially after all the hassle of coming out and all the rest of it." Harry rushed to say, he sounded so eager to please, and so _scared_ at the same time.

And yet hearing his voice was a God send, I hadn't heard him in so long, so damn _long._ He was so close to me, yet so far away. All I wanted to do was call out to him, to talk to him, but one more sound and this guard would make good on his threat.

"Fair enough, happens all the time I bet in that industry. Things get too much so you back out, I can understand that." The officer agreed, how could he believe that so easily!? Was I the only one who could tell when Harry was lying?!

" _Stop_ moving." The guard hissed in my ear, yanking me backwards. I hadn't even realised I'd moved.

"What was that?" the officer upstairs asked.

"What was what?" Harry's dad answered.

"That noise, I thought I heard something." The officer answered. Me! It was me! He heard me move! Come on, please come down and see me, please come down and find me here! Save me, oh God please save me!

The guard reacted to my hope by pulling me tighter to his body, his hand clamping down so hard on my mouth it was hard to breathe, his knife digging into my throat wordlessly. I stopped moving the second I felt it dig in, my skin barely managing to not break under the sharp edge.

"Probably just some pipes. The house is old; it creaks and makes weird noises sometimes." Harry covered quickly.

"Ah, of course. Happens to all these houses in the end, I bet it'll cost a lot to repair too." The officer could _not_ be making small talk right now! Couldn't he see that this was not a good place to be!? Couldn't he tell that something was _seriously wrong?!_ How couldn't he see that?!

"It will, but it's worth it. A house like this is always worth the extra upkeep costs." Harry's dad answered, probably smiling.

"I bet it is. It is a lovely house after all... I best be off though, everything seems above board here. Sorry to have bothered you Sir." The officer left, could he be serious?! He couldn't leave! He couldn't be leaving! No please he was supposed to save us, he wasn't supposed to leave!


	132. Chapter 132

130 Harry's POV

"I'll show you out." I smiled at the officer, hoping to get a second alone with him. This was only chance, I had to get _something_ to him, something, anything at all. He had to know that I wasn't safe here, that I really, really wasn't safe!

"Oh that's something our guards can do, you have school work to complete Harry." Dad tried to stop me, the hand on my shoulder squeezing just a little too hard for comfort.

"Actually, I'd like to speak to Harry quickly, if that's okay. His friends are causing you a lot of problems; I'd like to get his side of the story, so we can put an end to their meddling." The officer replied, oh thank _God._ Maybe this officer was more intelligent than he looked; maybe he had seen that something was wrong here! Please tell me that he'd seen that something was wrong here! Please, please, please tell me that he'd seen!

"Alright, we have been reluctant to report them, we don't want to cause any bad press for the boys, but if you feel it's necessary to intervene, I won't object." Dad gave one last _hard_ squeeze to my shoulder before letting me go. He didn't give me any warning glares, but the message was still clear, I couldn't say _anything_ untoward, or Dougie was getting it. He was just one level below me, I had heard his fearful whimpers, I couldn't do anything more to hurt him.

I could imagine him now, the guard covering his mouth, knife to his neck. He was probably shaking like a leaf, absolutely terrified of me making one false move. I wouldn't let him down; I wouldn't cause that for him. I wouldn't allow him to be hurt any further... which meant I had to stay quiet. Sh*t I couldn't say anything, _f*ck._

"What do you need to know officer?" I asked as I walked away with the man, praying he didn't pry too hard. I didn't know what would qualify in Dad's books as 'too close to the truth,' this officer could say the wrong thing at any point and Dougie would be for it! Oh Jesus, why did I think that talking to this guy would be a good idea?! Why did I think that any of this was a good idea?! The police were not our salvation here!

"Shall we go some place private first, away from prying eyes and ears?" _Sh*t_ he knew! He was going to ask all sorts of questions and it was all going to go wrong! Oh God, oh God, oh God!

"There's nobody here Sir, here is fine." I couldn't go somewhere private with him, Dad would panic and Dougie would die and that couldn't happen I had to keep my boy safe I had to keep him alive he couldn't be killed he couldn't he killed don't let him be killed!

"Are you sure?" he asked.

"I'm sure, it's fine. There's nothing to hide here." I rushed to say, _keep smiling, don't say anything wrong, just smile and act natural._

"Okay, if you say so." he looked at me suspiciously.

"What can you tell me about what has happened over the past few months?" he asked, I answered as best as I could. Coming out had been too much, I decided to have a break, then the break turned into me leaving. I couldn't take the pressure anymore. I liked band life well enough, but I couldn't take the pressure anymore. _Lies, lies, lies!_ So many lies but I couldn't tell the truth! The truth would get Dougie _killed!_

"Alright, and have you told your band mates this?" he continued, not looking all that convinced.

"Yes, of course, but they aren't exactly happy with me over it. They're a bit... it's difficult to explain. They want me to stay, because we are all such good friends, but I can't. It's too stressful, and it's not what I want anymore. I wish them all the best in the world, but I can't anymore, it's too much for me." I explained, _please believe me, please believe me. And Dad please don't get mad, please don't get mad._

"Uh-huh." He still didn't look convinced.

"I assure you, nothing is going on here, apart from me wanting to leave and my band mates not being that happy about it. They just want me back, which is understandable, and they don't quite understand my reasoning. It'll all blow over soon." I assured him, he had to believe me. He had to believe me.

But at the same time I didn't want him to believe me. I wanted him to investigate, wanted him to find Dougie, wanted him to rescue us both and get us home! But he _couldn't,_ the minute he went investigating, the guard would kill Dougie and that could not happen! I wouldn't allow it to happen, I couldn't live without my boy, I honestly couldn't live without him! He had to live!

"Alright, well we'll talk to your band mates again, but if they continue, I would recommend getting a restraining order against them or something, so deter them from trying again. Good luck with your studies." The officer shook my hand, handing on for just a bit too long, and left.

When I looked down, I realised he had left his card in my hand.


	133. Chapter 133

131 Tom's POV

"So you agree that something is wrong in that house?" I asked the officer after she explained how the investigation at Judd Manor had gone.

"I'm not agreeing to anything, what I am saying is that it is possible that something is up. Some of the things Mr Judd said did not add up, and your friend seemed to be rather anxious. We are going to keep an eye on the situation for now, just to make sure that everything is okay." She explained... that wasn't going to help much!

"Keeping an eye on things won't help though! Harry and Dougie are in real danger now!" I insisted, the police had to go in and save them now! They couldn't... it wasn't a situation where 'keeping an eye on things' would solve it! They had to go in and get our boys out!

"Anything could happen to them; you can't just keep an eye and expect them to be safe!" Danny insisted, I put a hand on his knee, trying to tell him to calm down a little. Shouting wasn't going to help the situation; we needed these officers on our side, not against us. This was the first person to listen to what we had to say, so we _had_ to keep in her good books.

"I'm sorry, but there isn't much else I can do without potentially endangering your friends. If Mr Judd is harming his son and his boyfriend, then storming the place could cause them more harm than good. We need to be absolutely certain of his guilt before we can make a move." She answered, at least she looked apologetic.

"How long will it take for you to be certain though?" I was scared of the answer, didn't want to even consider how much time it could take. This was taking too long anyway, Harry and Dougie were in so much danger as it was, we couldn't wait even longer!

"It varies from situation to situation. Usually with cases of child abuse, we can send round social workers, but because Harry is overage, we can't." she looked even more apologetic at saying that.

"But Dougie's seventeen, isn't that still counted as a child?" I thought that you only became an adult at eighteen? Dougie was still only seventeen; he was under that age limit!

"There was no evidence of Dougie being there, and without proof of him being in the house, we can't send round a social worker." The officer continued, _what?!_

"But we told you Dougie was in there! We told you repeatedly that he was in the house!" Danny's voice raised, panic making it squeak.

"I know that, but there was no _evidence_ of him in the house. We only have your word in this, we only really have your word with _any_ of this, and we can't work on hearsay alone. If there was evidence of your friend being in the house too, we would have a leg to stand on, but we don't, so there isn't much we can do in that respect." She couldn't be serious, she really couldn't be serious! This wasn't... how were the police going to get Harry and Dougie out if they didn't even believe that they were both in there?!

How were they going to do _anything_ when they didn't believe a single word we said!? They admitted that there was something suspicious going on, wasn't that enough to go and do a thorough investigation?! Why weren't they doing anything?! How could they just leave it all like this?! Why wasn't anybody doing anything at all to help us?!

We went round and round in circles with the officer, until in the end there was only one thing that she could promise us - that she would keep an eye on the situation. There was nothing else they could do as a police force, because there was no concrete evidence. There were no signs of abuse, no signs of anybody being held captive, no signs of anything. Only suspicions, and suspicions only put people like Harry's dad on a watch list. There was no plan of action, no way to prove anything, no way to get our boys out of there. There was just... there was just _nothing,_ and it was terrifying.

We couldn't do anything. We just had to sit and _wait_ for the police to get some evidence together, and how the hell were they going to do that when they weren't even going to go back to the house?! They couldn't! Harry and Dougie were _stuck_ in that hell house until somebody bothered to investigate!

I couldn't believe it, how could the police not do anything? It was their job to help people like us, why weren't they doing it!?


	134. Chapter 134

132 Harry's POV

Staring at the policeman's card, I considered calling the number and the consequences of it. I mean, I could phone the number, admit to everything that was happening in this house, and then get rescued. Which sounded _perfect,_ getting out of this house, away from this place, back to Tom and Danny, being happy again.

But if I _did_ get the police involved, then I was putting Dougie at risk, which was something I couldn't do. Dad had already threatened to _kill_ him when the policeman came the first time, if he saw police cars coming up to arrest him, there was no doubt in my mind that he would kill Dougie on the spot. He wouldn't hesitate for a second; he would kill my boyfriend without a second's hesitance if the police dared to show up. Even if Dad went down, he would make sure I was _never_ happy again. And the sure fire way to make sure I wasn't happy ever again was to kill Dougie.

So if I dared to phone the police, it would end in Dougie's death, even if I managed to get out. I would be free, but Dougie wouldn't be. I couldn't risk his life for my own, I wouldn't do it.

But what kind of life was Dougie having right now? He was trapped in a cell, the threat of being beaten and _killed_ hanging over his head constantly. It was... he was being _hurt,_ and all because of me. If I had just... God was there anything I could have done to save him from this? Was there anything I could do? I only had two options I could see. One, being phone the police and get them to rescue us, which runs the risk of Dougie being killed in retaliation, or two, waiting it out, trying to keep Dougie safe by playing by Dad's rules, and letting him suffer by himself. They were _terrible_ options, but what else could I do? There was nothing I could do!

I was risking Dougie's life no matter what I did, but at least Dougie was alive if I stayed quiet. He was alive, but I couldn't see him, and I was causing him pain... but he was _alive._ If I phoned the police, he would certainly be dead. And if the police showed up thanks to Tom and Danny... he would also be dead.

 _F*ck,_ was there any way out of this where both of us survived?! It didn't feel like it right now! There was nothing else I could do, no way I could turn.

I couldn't risk it though, couldn't do anything that could cause risk to Dougie. Or at least cause _more_ risk to him. And that meant not calling the police. So, with a sigh, I dropped the card in the bin, trying to forget about it entirely. I was relying entirely on Tom and Danny having enough sense to tell the police that this was place was heavily guarded and Dougie's life was in danger, so the police knew to be careful when they came. But when that would happen, I had no idea. It had taken this long to get a policeman to even show up here in the first place, how long it would take to get them to rescue us was another matter entirely.

"I heard that the police came today." Hayley suddenly made me jump, appearing in my bedroom.

"Huh? Oh, yeah, yeah they came today." I nodded, chewing on my lip.

"Bet your dad wasn't happy about that." Hayley sighed, looking apologetic.

"Yeah, he erm... he sent a guard down to Dougie. If the policeman got too close, or if I let something slip, then Dougie was... the guard was going to kill him." it was a struggle to say, I hated to even _think_ about it. My Dougie had been _so close_ to death, and he would have gone if I'd said just one wrong word.

"Sh*t. That's... that's horrible." Hayley came into the room, squeezing my shoulder, "Are you alright?"

"What do you think?" I gave her a weak glare, because _of course_ I wasn't alright! Dougie had nearly _died_ because a policeman had come to investigate!

"Of course, stupid question, sorry. I just... this is getting a bit too much." Hayley sighed, fingers running over my shoulder. It was a comfort, but it didn't do much to help. There was only one person who could help me right now, and that was Dougie. I needed to hold him in my arms and see for myself that he was alright and safe, that he wasn't hurt, or terrified, or hated me for making this happen to him.

"It's got too much a long time ago." Around about the time my parents _kidnapped me_ the first time round.

"True, that is very true... is there anything I can do for you? As in, I don't know... I don't actually know. Is there anything though?" Hayley asked.

"No, no there isn't anything. Unless you've seen Dougie recently, then if so, how is he?" I didn't know if she had been to see him yet or not.

"I haven't yet I'm afraid, I can go down though, if you want me to." Hayley offered.

"Please do, he's... he needs a friend. A nice face who can calm him down. He's... he's probably had a big panic attack, he doesn't like being alone during that." I hated that I hadn't been there. I should have been there; I should have gotten him safe weeks ago. I should have _helped_ him.

"Of course, I'll go down there now. For now, you sit down, you're pretty shaken yourself. I'll let you know how he is soon." Hayley pushed me to sit on the bed with a calming smile, before turning to leave.

"Hayley?" I called her back.

"Yes?" she turned.

"Tell him... tell him that I'm sorry. And that I love him." I requested, I needed him to know that. I needed Dougie to know that I did love him, and that I was so sorry for this.

"Of course." Hayley nodded and smiled.


	135. Chapter 135

**Floynterlover30 - thank you so much, it means a lot to hear that! And we'll have to see if things work out or if it all gets worse for them ;)**

* * *

133 Dougie's POV

The policeman left, and that's when the guard relaxed. He took the knife away from my neck, uncovered my mouth and simply said the words "Lucky escape, looks like your boy knows when to stay quiet," before leaving.

As the door slammed closed, I backed into the corner and sank to the floor into a shivering mess. I was so scared, so bloody _scared._ I'd nearly died, holy cr*p I nearly died. I could have died. Harry could have said one wrong word and I would have died before the policeman had gotten close to finding me. Oh my _god._

My lungs constricted with the thought, the room spinning so fast I couldn't focus on anything. _I could have died, I could have died, I could have died. Oh god I nearly died, that was so close I had been so close and it could have gone wrong at any second if just one thing had gone wrong would be dead that guard would have killed me he didn't care if he killed me._

I couldn't breathe, I couldn't breathe! This was... I couldn't... this wasn't happening, this wasn't happening holy sh*t this was not happening right now!

I must have passed out or something, because the next thing I knew, the door was opening. Looking up, I saw that it was Hayley. And she was alone.

"H-Hayley!" I reached out pathetically; I needed someone to hold me, to tell me that everything was okay. Please God anyone would do, I just needed someone to be _kind_ to me and _hold me_ and make things okay again.

"Oh Dougie, it's okay. I'm here now." Hayley took pity, gently pulling me in for a hug, cradling my head to her chest, stroking my dirty hair as I shook uncontrollably in her arms.

"I, I nearly died. I, I n-nearly died. I, he would have, he nearly... I would have, I could have." I couldn't stop saying it, couldn't ever stop. I was, I couldn't...

"Shh, shh kiddo, it's okay now. It's okay." Hayley whispered over and over, not stopping until I calmed.

"I, please don't let that happen again, please never let that happen again." it couldn't happen again, I never wanted that to happen again! I was so scared, so damn scared! That wasn't... I couldn't do it, not again! The guard was going to, that guard was going to _kill me_ because a policeman had come and tried to rescue us.

"I'll try my best Dougie." Hayley wouldn't stop anything like this happening again, it wasn't in her control. But hearing her promise was comforting, so damn comforting. I needed to hear that someone was trying, that someone was keeping me safe.

"Dad no! Dad please wait, listen to me!" that was Harry... he was shouting!

"Dad, Dad wait! Dad!" Harry shouted again, footsteps storming down to where we were.

The door slammed against the outside wall as it opened, Harry's dad storming in, looking so damn _angry_ it was like he was about to explode. The guards moved out of the way, sensing danger. Harry followed his dad in, still desperately pleading, but getting nowhere.

"Move and get out Atwell." He ordered, voice growling.

"Sir, what's happened?" Hayley had let me go, but was crouching near me.

"None of your business, now MOVE." The shout reverberated around the room, my chest tightened again in fear. What had happened? God what had Harry done? And what was going to happen to me?!

"Dad please no, don't do this! Please, don't do this! I won't use the card; I wasn't going to phone anyone! I swear I wasn't going to do anything!" Harry was pleading, trying to pull his dad back.

"NO!" his dad shoved him away, knocking him to the floor, "You directly disobeyed me, you're going to try and _rescue_ yourself and your little _boyfriend!_ I will not allow such disobedience!" the man spun to glare at me.

"Wait, no, no please!" I started begging, this wouldn't be good! This wouldn't be good!

This wasn't going to end well! This wasn't going to end well!

"I'm sorry Dougie, I'm so sorry." Harry whispered, tears rolling down his face.

"Hold him, and shut him up. Don't let him look away from this." his dad ordered, Harry getting grabbed and forced to look right at me.

Oh God, oh God, oh God! This wasn't going to end well, oh f*ck this wasn't going to end well!


	136. Chapter 136

134 Harry's POV

As Hayley left, I took a moment to remember how to breathe, and to try and relax. I had been so damn tense today, so on edge I thought I was going to snap at any second, relaxing and breathing sounded like a really good idea.

But it was so hard, I was worried about Dougie, worried that he wasn't okay, that the guard had hurt him. Oh God, he hadn't killed him had he? No, he couldn't have... Dad would have reacted to that by now, and I would know. I would feel it, surely I would feel it. Deep inside, I'd know if Dougie was dead, and I didn't feel like that. No, he was alive. He had to be alive, I wouldn't take anything else.

Slowly, I took deep breaths, trying to relax my whole body as much as possible. I got absolutely nowhere though, too keyed up and worried. I was stuck in this respect; I wasn't going to be relaxing any time soon.

Especially when I heard footsteps thumping up the stairs. It wasn't Hayley's footsteps either; they were too heavy, and far too angry. Sh*t, Dad. What did he want now? To threaten me more? To warn me against saying a word to any police officer, or anyone for that matter? Probably. Like I needed to be reminded, today had gotten _far_ too close for comfort, and I wasn't about to risk anything. Possibly ever again for that matter.

Dad's footsteps stormed into my room, slamming the door open. He looked _angry_ again. Oh God, that wasn't good. That really wasn't good...

"Where is it?" Dad immediately started searching my room, turning things over and rooting through things.

 _Please don't mean the card, please don't mean the card. Oh please do not mean that card!_

"Pardon? I don't know what you're talking about." I didn't dare say anything else, didn't dare act 'common' either.

"You know what, where is it?" Dad didn't stop searching.

"Honestly, I don't know what you're talking about. I can help you look if you tell me what it is you're looking for." I didn't dare look at the bin, just in case. But Dad was getting close, so damn close. _No, no, no, no, no!_

"That card! Where is the card that policeman gave you? And don't deny you don't have it, one of our guards _saw_ him give it to you, and _you_ pocketing it!" Dad stormed up, grabbing my shirt in his fist.

"W-What card? There was no card! I don't know what you're talking about!" I tried to push against his hand, but he was unmovable. _Oh no, oh no, oh no!_

"You know _exactly_ what I'm talking about do not lie to me!" Dad shouted, "Now where did you hide it?!"

I couldn't help it, I looked at the bin. I prayed that I hadn't, but I did, and I looked at the bin. Where the card was. Where Dad could grab it easily and go _insane._

Dad caught the look, and immediately shoved me to the floor, reaching in and grabbing the card. The look on his face turned my blood to _ice._

"Dad, wait, let me explain! I, I didn't ask for it! I wasn't going to use it, that's why I put it in the bin!" I struggled to say, scrambling to get upright.

"A _card_ with the policeman's _number,_ so you could _call him_ so he could come and _rescue you?_ Is that what you were thinking? Was that what you going to do? Phone the police, tell them that we're _abusing_ you and your, your... _chav,_ and get them to take you away?" Dad advanced on me again, I scrambled to get away from him, panicking.

"No! No that's not what I was going to do! I wasn't going to do anything! I swear, I threw the card away! I threw the card away; I wasn't going to use it!" I shouted, _praying_ for him to believe me. He had to believe me, he had to believe me! Oh God he had to before he went _ballistic_ and hurt Dougie!

"Don't lie to me! Don't you _dare_ lie to me! And don't think you can get away with this!" Dad turned and stormed out of the room, and I knew exactly where he was going.

"Dad! No! Dad please don't do anything rash! DAD!" I called out; racing after him, but it was too late. He was on the war path, and I was _terrified_ of what he would do now.


	137. Chapter 137

135 Dougie's POV

Guards grabbed Harry, forcing him to look at me as he cried out and shouted for me as his dad got closer and closer. I backed away as far as possible, hitting the wall very quickly. I was trapped, and had nowhere to go...

"Dad! Dad please no! Please, please just listen to me! I wasn't going to use the card! I wasn't going to do anything I swear! Don't hurt him, please don't hurt him!" Harry was shouting, desperately trying to pull out of the guards grip, but getting nowhere.

"P-Please, please don't do this. Please." I begged, knowing it was useless. But I was so scared, and utterly _helpless,_ I had to do something. I had to try.

"Why shouldn't I!? Why shouldn't I teach you a lesson?! It's _your_ fault my son is like he is! You turned him away from me, made him into this common, disobedient _vermin,_ just like you!" Harry's dad shouted, sending a kick into my stomach, knocking all the air out of my lungs.

With a shout, he suddenly pounced on me, punches and kicks raining down across my body, each one causing more damage than the last. It was _agony,_ I hadn't fully healed from last time, and I could feel his hits breaking everything all over again.

His shoes and knuckles cut into my skin, stamps broke and fractured bones, punches made blood seep out. I couldn't fight back, I couldn't do anything, I was helpless. All I could do was lay still and take it, hearing Harry _scream_ and cry for me, pleading and begging for his dad to stop. It fell on deaf ears, nothing was stopping this man, nothing was going to make him stop.

Screams and shouts echoed around the room, mixing with my cries of pain.

"Stop, Dad, stop! I'm sorry! I'm sorry, stop! Dougie!"

"Think you can take my son away from me? Think you can change him into you; make him someone he's not? How dare you bring him down to your level! You ruined my son! You ruined my son!"

"Sir, you're going to kill him!"

"Should I kill him, huh? Should I kill him, make you _finally_ listen to me? Will killing him make you finally pay attention and stop this insolence?" my attacker hissed at Harry, holding me up by my hair. I didn't have the strength to struggle; I barely had the strength to stay upright.

"NO! No Dad please! I'll be good! I'll be good I promise! Don't kill him, please don't kill him!" Harry sobbed, knees buckling between the guards.

"Don't lie to me Harry, you will _never_ behave! Not with him here, you will _never_ be perfect, never be good! Don't pretend you will be!" a knife pressed against my neck. The whole world span as it pressed into my neck, just like the guard had done earlier on. _I was going to die, oh God I was going to die._

"Freeze! Put the knife down! Put your hands in the air!" the door burst open, revealing men armed with guns.

"Drop the knife! Drop it right now!" one shouted, his gun pointing at Harry's dad.

"What is this?! You called them?!" he glared at his son, the knife pressing further against my neck. The skin was about to split. _Oh God, oh God, oh God._

Everything span, I couldn't breathe, couldn't concentrate. Everything blurred and turned sideways. I couldn't understand what was going on; there was shouting, and movement around me. The hands on my changed, I was laid flat, I was moving. Bright light burned my eyes, a loud whining sound screaming in my ears. Something was on my face, over my mouth. Was that air? It was easier to breathe, was it air? Could it have been oxygen?

A hand, it was holding onto my own. It wouldn't let go. It was right there, I couldn't... who was that? I couldn't... I couldn't see them. Couldn't hear them. Everything was so blurry, so loud, so _painful_. I couldn't tell anything apart.

Was this a rescue? I couldn't... I didn't understand... I didn't know what was going on.

Soon everything slowed, the bright lights returning, the sound lessoning. The hand let go, I tried to grab it back, but it hurt too much to move my arm.

Something stuck in my arm, and everything quickly went black.


	138. Chapter 138

136 Harry's POV

"Please Dougie, wake up, please, please wake up." I begged, clinging to my boy's hand, holding onto it for dear life. He looked so _small_ on the bed, so damn small, and so bruised and battered. I couldn't stand it, couldn't stand to see him look so helpless, so lifeless. The monitors careful beeping told me that his heart was still beating, the oxygen machine still moving meant that he was still breathing, but he didn't look _alive._ There were so many bruises, so many bandages, so little colour to his remaining skin. He wasn't moving, not an inch. Dougie liked to wriggle in his sleep, to spread himself out, he wasn't sleeping, he was too still.

He would have hated the needles in his skin too, absolutely hated them. Dougie hated needles, even with his tattoos, he _hated_ needles. Passed out when he saw them usually. He would have been scared to see them there, sticking in his skin like this. He would have panicked, would have held my hand, would have been so shaky. He was too still, he was _too still._

The doctors said that he had fractured three ribs, broken his leg, and had nearly ruptured several internal organs. If the police hadn't arrived with an ambulance when they had, they had feared that Dougie wouldn't have survived. He would have died. Oh God he could have _died._ Dad would have killed him, he nearly did. Even if he hadn't been stopped, he had been ready to slit his throat, had had the knife pressed up against his neck, that weak, vulnerable neck. It had been so close, so damn _close._

I still couldn't make sense of what had happened. The second the knife had been placed on Dougie's neck, the whole world had zeroed down to that point, and nothing more. I barely had any recollection of the police raid, the arrests from around the house, any of it. I just remembered watching the ambulance crew loading Dougie onto a stretcher and bringing him here in the ambulance. I had ridden with them, holding Dougie's hand the entire time, but I could only remember holding his hand. Everything else had been a complete blur; the only part that did make sense was the doctor coming out of surgery to tell me that Dougie was okay, that Tom and Danny had been called, and that they were on their way. I couldn't even remember being checked over myself. There was something about shock, but I hadn't heard just what it was.

The door clattering open broke my thoughts, making me leap feet. I whirled round, ready to be on the defence, only to find that it was Tom, Danny, and Fletch running in.

"Oh thank God." Fletch breathed, Tom and Danny preferring to run over to the bed side, frantically asking questions about what happened.

"The, the police came. They came a-and they arrested everybody." It was strange to say out loud, it didn't feel real. None of it did really. This felt so dreamlike, like it hadn't happened. I still couldn't wrap my head around it.

"And you two? How are you two?" Danny asked, I explained as best I could. Dougie was expected to make it, that he was going to be in pain for a while, and was going to need therapy to get over his ordeal, but he was expected to make a full recovery. That I was okay, I didn't even have a bruise on me anywhere, that all of Dad's rage had been focused on Dougie, so I hadn't even been touched.

"It's okay now Harry, we're here. And you're safe now, you're both safe." Tom promised, squeezing my shoulder.

"Yeah, yeah... safe." I didn't feel very safe right now, not while Dougie was lying like this, looking like he was half dead, bruised and wrapped in bandages. He didn't know he was safe, he was unconscious; he didn't know that he was safe.

"He will, when he wakes up, he'll know." Fletch reassured me, but it didn't feel like much reassurance. Nothing did, the only thing that would help would be to see Dougie wake up, to wake up and smile again, to physically show me that he was okay and _safe._

Until then, I could only worry for him, and finally keep guard on him, like I was supposed to all along.


	139. Chapter 139

137 Tom's POV

Dougie looked so _still,_ lying on that bed. I couldn't believe it was really him, not looking this small, this bruised. He was... Dougie wasn't supposed to look like this. He wasn't supposed to look like he'd gone through World War Three.

What had even _happened_ to him in that mansion? What the hell had Harry's dad done to him? I dreaded to think, and I didn't even want to think of how it would affect him in the future. The doctor's said he'd make a full physical recovery, but mentally? I didn't know, I didn't want to even consider our boy as anything but that happy, shy, cheeky guy we had grown to love. What if that was destroyed now? What if that person wasn't there anymore?

I'd support him, we all would. We would do whatever it took to keep Dougie safe and happy, but would he ever be the same? It scared me to think he wouldn't be. Scared me _so_ much.

The same went for Harry too. He had seen this attack happen, seen Lord knows how many more too. He had been in that house for so much longer than Dougie had too. What had he gone through? What had he been forced to do? And would he ever be the same again?

Watching Harry watching Dougie, I doubted that he'd ever been the same either. He was looking at our youngest like he couldn't believe that he was alive. Like he thought that this was all his fault, like he was blaming himself entirely. I didn't know how to make him believe that it wasn't his fault at all, that this was all his parents' fault, that _none_ of this was his fault. None of it.

"Dougie? Oh my God Dougie!" the cry made us all turn round, finding Dougie's mum in the doorway. We had phoned her from the car, telling her that her son was in hospital, she had said she would be at the hospital within the hour.

She rushed over to the bed, hands hesitantly touching her son, sobbing as she looked at him. "Dougie, oh God Dougie. Baby, my poor boy, my poor, poor baby."

"Come on lads; let's give Sam and Doug some space." Fletch pulled us all out, having to use a bit of force to move Harry. He was so reluctant to leave, to take his eyes away from little Dougie.

"Let's get some food, we haven't eaten all day." I suggested, pulling Danny with me. He stumbled, but followed. Harry was pulled by Fletch; he wasn't even saying anything, just staring back at the hospital room.

We found the canteen, managing to get some sandwiches. We all ate mechanically, all of our stomachs churning as the image of our bassist in that hospital bed. It was going to haunt my dreams for a while; I didn't think I'd ever forget the image of Dougie lying like that.

We were silent for so long, there was nothing to say. Nothing to do. There was nothing to discuss. We had the facts from the doctors, and Harry was in too much shock to give us anymore details. Even Fletch wasn't talking either, Fletch _never_ shut up usually. He didn't know when to stop; he spoke so much, from first thing in the morning to the minute he went to bed.

Danny was usually so loud; he was always laughing and joking. He wasn't saying anything now. It was too quiet, _too damn quiet._

"I, I saw it happen. Saw it all happen. Dad... Dad was going to kill him. He had a knife. He was going to kill him." Harry whispered at last, after the meal was finished with.

"He _what?_ " Danny blanched, choking on air.

"He... Dad was going to kill him. If the police hadn't turned up, Dougie would be dead." Harry said so mechanically it was almost robotic.

"You're... You're joking right?" he couldn't be serious, he really couldn't be serious.

"It's the truth. The knife was at his neck. Two minutes later and we would be in the," Harry's breath hitched, "in the..." tears welled up in his eyes, "In the morgue." The floodgates opened, Harry's whole body convulsing into a sob.


	140. Chapter 140

**indigosky17 - Thanks, but who says all the danger is over? ;)**

138 Harry's POV

I sobbed hysterically for so long, I couldn't stop myself. I just, I'd seen that knife against Dougie's neck, I'd watched him be beaten to a pulp. _I nearly watched him die._ My sweet baby Dougie nearly _died_ and I nearly watched it happen. If the police hadn't turned up, if they had just been two minutes later. Oh _God_ if they had been two minutes late. I couldn't... I couldn't even imagine what would have happened. I couldn't... this wasn't... I couldn't do this. I couldn't do this.

"Shhh, Harry, shhh. It's okay, it's okay. Dougie's safe, Dougie's alive. He's going to be okay." Tom whispered gently in my ear, rocking us from side to side.

"I, I watched... The knife, the knife was against his _neck._ " I couldn't stop repeating it, couldn't stop saying it at all. I was just, it all was going wrong and I nearly lost Dougie and I couldn't lose Dougie, not again, not ever again. He hadn't been safe and I nearly lost him forever and I couldn't take the idea of that! He was, he was everything and I couldn't, I couldn't do this anymore! I couldn't take all of this! Everything had been so damn terrifying and I hadn't been in control of any of it and I didn't know what to do now!

"I know, I know you did, but it's over. It didn't hurt him, he's safe now. He's safe." Danny was saying, rocking in time with Tom, his hand pushing my head to rest against his chest. I clung to their shirts, shivering so badly I felt like I'd never stop. I was so scared, so damn _scared._

"I promise Harry, he's safe. Dougie is _safe,_ and so are you. There are guards outside the door, who aren't allowed to allow anybody into the hospital room. Nobody apart from us, Dougie's mum, and his doctors are allowed in. Everybody else has to stay out. Nobody is going to hurt him ever again." Fletch bent to my level, "Do you want to go back to him now? We can go back if you want."

"Y-Yes." I had never wanted to leave him in the first place, never wanted to leave him so damn vulnerable like that.

"Alright, come on. Let's go. Can you stand?" Fletch asked, I nodded weakly, barely managing to get to my feet. I had to lean on Tom and Danny to get back to Dougie's room.

I collapsed into a chair by his side, picking up his hand. He was as still as he had been before, but just as warm. Warm was a good sign, warm was a good sign, right? It had to be a good sign. Dougie was warm, like he always had been, so he wasn't going to be too bad, right? He was going to be alright, wasn't he? What I wouldn't give for him to _move_ again, to move and speak and smile at me. To do _anything_ but lay there and look dead.

"I don't blame you." Dougie's mum, Sam, suddenly spoke up.

"I, huh?" I didn't understand.

"I don't blame you, for what happened to Dougie. I, I know you love him, more than anything in this world. I know you're devoted to him, and that he's devoted to you." Sam hesitated, "He told me once, about how your parents viewed him, and your choice to be with him. And, and I followed the story in the press. I know your parents are the b*stards who did this, not you. So I don't blame you."

"You, you don't?" I had fully expected her to hate my guts for the rest of my life for letting this happen to Dougie. Had been fully expecting her to kick me out of this hospital room, ban me from _ever_ seeing Dougie again. I'd been so _sure_ of it.

"No. You are not at fault. This was not you in the slightest." Sam smiled weakly, reaching out to hold my spare hand.

"T-Thank you." I leant against her shoulder, allowing her to hold me gently.

We stopped talking again, everybody in the room turning to look at Dougie's body, the only sound in the room being the heart beat monitor, slowly beeping. Reassuring us that Dougie was still alive, still fighting, still healing.


	141. Chapter 141

139 Danny's POV

We stayed for as long as we could, but were eventually forced home. Only Dougie's mum and Harry were allowed to stay, thanks to Fletch talking to the doctors. But me and Tom had to leave, and weren't allowed back until the next day.

Obviously, we were back as soon as we could be the next morning. Racing down the squeaking corridors and bursting into the hospital room. I was _desperate_ to see Dougie sitting upright, talking and smiling again, desperate to see him looking alive again. instead I got him laying down, still not moving, still as pale and bruised as yesterday. It wasn't right, _it wasn't right_ to see him looking like that. He was supposed to be snuggling up with Harry on the sofa at home, or tending to his iguanas, or doing _something_ that wasn't lying unconscious on a bed in hospital! It wasn't right, I really wasn't right.

"No change at all?" Tom was asking, pulling me over so I could sit on his lap. I didn't want to be far away from him, didn't want to leave him for a second. This could have happened to me and Tom, if my parents hadn't have come round when they did, this could have been us. To think of Tom like this... I couldn't, I couldn't do it.

"None. He's still unconscious. Doctors said that they're keeping him under for a few days, to help him rest and heal. He isn't... he needs the rest." Harry sighed, stroking his thumb over Dougie's hand.

"Just for a few days, to make sure he doesn't stress himself out too much and injure himself further." Sam answered almost mechanically.

"Do you think he's dreaming?" I asked, gripping Tom's shirt a bit tighter.

"No. He's deep under." Harry shook his head, "It's all just... blackness for him right now." tears welled up in his eyes, but before he could cry, there was a knock at the door.

"Excuse me, is this a bad time?" we turned round to find the officer from the station at the door, "I just need to ask Harry a few questions about what happened. I can come back later if you wish."

"Erm, no, no, it's fine." Harry bit at his lip, "I don't have to leave him though, do I?"

"If you don't want to." She smiled kindly, "Whatever makes you comfortable."

"Here is comfortable." Harry answered, and after some shuffling around, it was decided that we would all stay. We all wanted to know what happened yesterday, and what happened at the house in general. It was easier this way, so Harry only have to explain it all once, after this he could hopefully try and move on, hopefully all of us could.

"Why don't we start from the beginning, when did your parents start acting hostile towards Dougie?" the officer started, her voice was quiet and calm, not pushing, or forceful in the slightest. It was... good, not threatening in the slightest. Non-threatening was really needed right now.

"I-It started years ago, back when I first joined the band; they weren't that bad though, just refused to talk to the boys. B-But it got worse, once... once we all went round to the house, I was hoping to introduce everybody, and hopefully make us all friends. But it, it went wrong. They found out about Dougie and me being a couple, they... they _hated_ the idea." Harry continued on and on, telling the officer _everything._ Every hit, every punch, ever insult. All of it.

All up to when the police came in, who saved our boys lives, getting them out of that hell hole.

I was crying by the end, unable to believe that that had _happened._ That Harry's parents had decided to use Dougie as some sort of _punishment_ against him, to make sure he behaved as their perfect son. I couldn't... they had beaten our boy so badly, had terrified Harry on a daily basis. How could they do that to their own son?! How could they possibly do that to their son and his _nineteen year old_ boyfriend? He was a child, both of them were just _children,_ they weren't adults yet, and they treated them like they were _criminals,_ just because they loved each other. It was horrendous, and hearing what exactly happened _hurt_ on so many levels.

"I'm so sorry you had to go through that Harry, but I can assure you right now that I won't let it happen again. There is an overwhelming amount of evidence against your parents, and the staff who took part in this. You won't have to go through this again, and neither will anybody else, not by your parent's hands." The officer promised again, "I just have one more question, who phoned the police? Did you do it?"

"Er, I, I don't know. It wasn't me. I was, I was in the cell with Dougie. I, I wasn't anywhere near a phone." Harry answered, looking confused.

"Ah, okay, that makes sense that you wouldn't know. I've got a few other people to talk to, so I'll see what they say. I'll let you know if I find out who phoned the police." She turned and left, after thanking us for our time again.

So who had phoned the police?


	142. Chapter 142

140 Harry's POV

As Dougie laid there, I kept on thinking about who could have possibly rung the police. They did get a distress call about what was going on, but who has done it? It wasn't me, and it wasn't Dougie. Dad certainly didn't do it, and I doubted any of the staff did it either. My parents were powerful, and calling the police risked their jobs. Also, they hadn't been very inclined to helping me or Dougie in the past, why start now? Was it the near death situation? Or had they grown a conscious? I didn't know, but whoever it was, I was thankful for them.

"The bruising is going down." Sam commented while we were alone, Tom, Danny and Fletch having gone to get some food for us all.

"That it is." I agreed, the bruises covering Dougie's face and body had gotten past the horrendous looking phase, and were starting to yellow. Some of the swelling was going down too, and the cuts were healing over nicely.

Now if only he could _wake up_ and it would all be okay. Or at least a bit better than it was now. He was so little, so _innocent,_ I wanted... I wanted to pick him up and take him home, protect him from the world. I wanted to make him smile again, make him laugh. Feed him his favourite foods, hold him as he slept, and just make sure my boy felt _loved_ and _cared for_ again. To make sure he felt _safe_ again. He hadn't been safe in so long. I wanted to make him feel safe again.

"I, I was going to propose you know. Before all this. I was planning to propose." I admitted, I hadn't told Sam any of it, hadn't told the boys either. I'd just had this plan in my head, had been thinking about what kind of ring I'd like to get him. Of course I was going to tell them, but not until I had a solid plan, a solid idea I could run with.

"Were you? I didn't realise." Sam smiled a little, "Maybe you still could, when things have gotten back to normal again."

"Depends on whether or not Dougie still wants me after this, who wants to marry into a family of psychos who try to kill you?" I tried to make it sound like a joke, but it fell flat. I was so scared of what Dougie was going to say when he woke up, scared that he wasn't going to love me anymore, scared that he wasn't going to want to be anywhere near me anymore. I wouldn't blame him for it, not after what I had put him through, just for being with me. But still, the thought _hurt._

"Of course he's going to still want you Harry, he's _crazy_ for you. I've never seen him love something, or someone, more than you. And you said it yourself, he wouldn't let go of your hand in the ambulance, he still wants you Harry, I know he does." Sam encouraged, still giving me a small smile, "You may have to give him time, but he won't have fallen out of love with you because of this, I know he won't."

"Hopefully... It would be a bit of a sad wedding though, seeing as I don't exactly have any family left." I had my siblings, but that was it. Mum and Dad were gone, taken away by police, about to get sentenced to _prison._ Even if they weren't, I wouldn't have them at the wedding anyway. Not after this, my God even if they had only just hated Dougie, I wouldn't let them anywhere near him. But after everything they had done, I wouldn't let them within a mile of him.

"Don't say that Harry, you still have family. You have Thomas and Katherine for starters. Let alone Tom and Danny, and your management." Sam reached out, taking my hand and squeezing it, "And most importantly, you have _me,_ okay? You have _me,_ and _my family._ I'm not about to abandon you now, not ever. You deserve a family who loves you, and I'm going to give it to you."

"Sam, you don't have to do that." she really didn't, especially after what I had caused for her _son._ I couldn't make her look after me too. It wouldn't be right, it wouldn't be proper, and it certainly wouldn't be within any realms of _sane._

"I know I don't, but I'm going to anyway. I practically adopted you from the minute you walked through my front door, and if you're going to marry my son in the future, that makes you my son in law. Therefore, you're mine anyway. And no child of mine goes without love and acceptance for who they are." Sam looked so determined, I could hardly argue with her.

"Thank you." I whispered, tearing up and leaning into her arms, allowing her to hug me.

"Not a problem Harry. You deserve love, and happiness. You both do, and I'm going to make sure you get it." Sam promised, squeezing me tight, like the mother I had been craving for months.


	143. Chapter 143

141 Tom's POV

Harry and Sam seemed to rally round each other over the passing days, becoming a tight unit holding vigil over Dougie. I was quite glad about that in a lot of ways, for starters, because Dougie _needed_ that love and support, even when unconscious, and secondly because Harry needed that love too. He hadn't had any parental love in a _long_ time, a very long time in fact. He probably hadn't received any affection from anyone ever since he had been taken, he needed to be held. And who better than by someone he viewed as a mother? Hopefully Sam was helping to heal mental wounds that Danny and I couldn't.

Days past in a hazy blur of hospitals, doctors, and meals I couldn't remember cooking or eating. There was evidence in our sink that we had eaten, but I couldn't remember it at all, because I was too busy thinking of Dougie. I was waiting for the day he was woken up again, waiting to hear his voice again, waiting to see what he was going to be like when he woke up. Traumatised? Terrified? Completely fine? I didn't know, and I was scared to find out.

Those last few moments at the house must have been terrifying, and if the person who had phoned the police hadn't had done so, I dreaded to think what might had happened. Death probably, if Harry was to be believed. I couldn't imagine what that would have been like, what would have happened to us all if that had happened. Harry would _not_ have been okay in the slightest. He would have collapsed, been catatonic, would have been in such a state that I would be scared to leave him alone for even a second. Danny wouldn't be much better, he viewed Dougie like the little brother he never had. And I would have... God I didn't even know. I couldn't imagine our lives without little Dougie with us, without caring for him and teaching him the ways of the world, without hearing that laugh, those dirty jokes, seeing him grow into the great man we all knew he would be.

Just thinking about it was making me tear up, and desperate to hold onto him. But I couldn't, I couldn't jog him right now, scared to hurt him. I could onto place my hand on his blanket covered leg, hoping he could feel it, hoping he knew that it was me, that I was here for him. That I wasn't going to leave him, that _none_ of us were going to leave him.

Whoever had phoned the police, I wanted to hug them very, very hard and thank them for saving our boys life. He was only nineteen years old, he couldn't go just yet, he had so much more to live through. Growing up, becoming a man, settling down and getting married to Harry, maybe having a few kids too if he wanted them. Travelling the world with us, discovering more of himself, being _happy._ All of that and more, he deserved the world, not being beaten to death over love.

Eventually, the doctors decided it was time to wake Dougie up, that he was ready for it. He was healing up nicely, and there was no real reason to keep him under any longer, so they decided to stop giving him the medication that was keeping him under. They kept the pain medications going, along with the fluids though, because they were necessary.

"He won't wake up for a few hours yet, because the drugs will still be in his system. When he does, he may be a bit disorientated, and that's completely normal, nothing to worry about. Just reassure him, let him know that you're there. But be gentle, don't rush him, or make too many sudden movements, let him adjust, and if things get a bit too close to the mark, we'll have to put him under again." the doctor smiled reassuringly.

"Will he be okay?" Harry asked in a whispered, hand squeezing just that bit tighter around Dougie's.

"Hopefully yes, but we can't be sure until he wakes up. We're all hoping that he will be, and of course we will be supplying a psychiatrist so if Dougie needs to talk to someone, he can. Right now though, the main thing is to wake him up and make him feel safe again. Making him feel safe and making sure he knows that he's out of danger is the main thing for now." the doctor answered, leaving the room, leaving us to wait it out.


	144. Chapter 144

142 Dougie's POV

There was... there was a beeping sound. Steady, rhythmic almost. Beep, beep, beep, beep. Over and over. Getting... clearer, less fuzzy. Why was it fuzzy? I hadn't heard it before... I'd been... there had been... darkness... too much darkness...

It was getting lighter... I think. There were spots of white... it hurt a bit... there was... were there voices? I think there were voices. More of the same beeping. And, light. Was it light? I couldn't... where was I? I'd been... there had been movement, and a hand in my own. And pain. So much pain. There was no pain now, all fuzz. So much fuzz. Static.

"Dougie? Dougie, honey, can you hear me?" a voice, deep voice, was asking. On the...left, I think. Warmth in my left hand too, a gentle touch. Harry?

"Dougie, it's okay sweetheart, we're here." Female, hand on my shoulder, Mum? Why was... I couldn't... I didn't know what was happening...

"We're right here baby, right here." Harry, definitely Harry.

I tried opening my eyes, the light stabbing into them so much I was forced to close them again, letting out a groan of pain.

"Oh thank God, it's okay Dougie, you're in hospital. You've been asleep for a few days, but you're okay now, you're safe." Harry was saying, I couldn't... it was _bright._

"Hurts." I pushed out, trying to lift my hand, why did it feel so heavy? It shouldn't... it wasn't heavy.

"I know it does, but you've got pain meds going through you now, you'll feel better soon." My hand was squeezed, something rubbing across the palm.

"Don't trust to lift your arm, what do you need?" Mum was asking, I think.

"Bright." I pushed again; it was so _bright,_ so damn bright. It hurt my eyes, I couldn't see!

"Tom turn out the light." Footsteps, the light darkened again. I tried to open my eyes again, it was...easier. Better, slightly. I could see a bit now... blurs mostly, outlines.

Harry was here, I could tell it was him, so was Mum. Tom and Danny were further away, but it was them, definitely them.

"You're... You're here." I missed them, missed them so much.

"We're here baby, we're all here now. You're safe again, I promise, nobody is going to hurt you again." Harry was saying, "Now does anything hurt? Can we get you anything? Do you need us to do something for you?"

"W-What happened?" I couldn't... there had been pain, and hands, and I don't... I couldn't remember.

"Someone managed to phone the police, they came and saved us. You've been on hospital ever since." Harry explained, I could just about remember... there had been a knife, against my neck. And footsteps, and shouting. A clatter of metal on the floor.

"We, we're safe?" I asked, were we safe now? Could we be safe?

"Yeah Dougie, we're safe now. I promise, we're safe now. You're never going to be hurt again, I promise." Harry kissed my forehead, and I couldn't quite describe how happy I felt. Still so fuzzy around the edges, and dazed, but _happy._ I was safe again, I was safe and we were alive.


	145. Chapter 145

**Floynterlover30 - thank you!**

143 Harry's POV

Dougie was talking. Dougie was moving. Dougie was _alive._ Oh God he was alive and well and here and wasn't having a panic attack and was _alive._ He was alive, and well, and not panicking. He wasn't rejecting me, or trying to push me away. He wanted me here, said so himself, he wanted me _here_ with him. Thank God, thank God, _thank God._

He was fuzzy around the edges, and still numbed by medications, but he was _here_ and _conscious_ and _right in front of me._ It meant the world, meant I could breathe again. He was okay, he was doing okay, that's all that mattered. As long as he was alive and well it did not matter at all.

It took a while, but Dougie did manage to slowly come back to fully conscious again, he still reacted a bit slowly, but he was getting better. He was answering more questions, understanding more. He was still calm, a little _edgy,_ but not anywhere near as bad as I thought he was going to be. I had been so scared that he was going to be completely hysterical, unable to calm down, still terrified of my dad hurting him, but he was fine. Clingy, jumpy in places, but fine.

I breathed a sigh of relief at the realisation, hoping that Dougie wasn't traumatised, that this was going to be how he was going to be the whole time, that he wasn't going to have a delayed reaction. Though that didn't mean I pushed him, or anything of the sort. I took things slowly, made sure I didn't make any sudden movements, or talk too loudly, or push him into talking too much. I let him sleep and do as he wanted, explaining everything questioned, holding his hand as long as he wanted, which was constantly.

Especially when Tom, Danny and Fletch left. Dougie's hand tightened around mine when I got up too.

"Wait!" I turned to him, "Don't leave, please, Harry don't leave."

"I wasn't Doug; I was going to close the door, that's all. I wasn't going anywhere." I wasn't even _thinking_ of leaving him, especially not right now. I had simply gone to close the door, because while the ward was quieter now, I thought it would be for the best to close the door.

"Right, yeah... Of course. Sorry." Dougie shrank in the bed, looking a bit ashamed.

"Hey, don't look like that, it's alright." I came back, sitting gingerly on the bed, leaving plenty of space for him.

"I was... It was... I was alone, and it... I don't want to be alone again." Dougie picked at his cast with his good hand, not looking at me. It was like a punch to the gut to think of how _lonely_ and _scared_ he must have been in that room.

Mostly in the dark, only Hayley to talk to occasionally, no-one else even _looking at him._ For days and weeks, so alone. I couldn't even imagine that level of isolation. Even I had been talked to, if it was just to be insulted and ordered about. I was still _spoken to,_ and allowed to move around the house.

"Oh Dougie," I reached out, gently pulling his head to look at me.

I waited for his eyes to look at my face before I continued. "You will _never_ be alone again. I'll always be here for you. Always. I'll never let you go through that level of loneliness again." I wouldn't, I'd never let that happen. I'd never let him be alone again. He was going to be loved and cared for, and treated like the perfect human being he was. Under my care, he would never be abused again.

"T-Thank you." Dougie whispered, holding onto my hand, "Can you, can you lay down, with me? I, I don't want to sleep alone."

"Of course I will, if that's what you want." I'd do anything, anything he wished. I'd run down this corridors naked if that was what he wished for. Hell I'd do that if it made him smile again, let alone if it made him feel safe.

"And can we keep the door open?" Dougie asked, still hesitant.

"Whatever makes you feel safe and comfortable." I laid down next to him, moving the wires attached to him so he could lay as he wished. Which involved him lying next to me, his head on my chest, hand resting on my stomach. I wrapped an arm around his waist, being careful not to jog him, or pull anything.

"Thank you." Dougie whispered again, slowly falling asleep, safe in my arms.


	146. Chapter 146

144 Dougie's POV

I manage to fall asleep in Harry's arms, lulled into it by the sound of his heart beat against my ear, the feel of his breathing against my hand. He was alive, and he was safe, and he was _with me._ I needed him, God did I need him. I'd been so scared in that cell, so lonely; I thought I was going crazy in there. I needed Harry, needed his reassurance that everything was okay, that I wasn't going to die alone, that I wasn't going to die at all, not right now, not at nineteen.

I needed Harry, needed him so bad. Tom, Danny and Mum were useful too, were hugely comforting to have around, but Harry was the person I needed most. He was, he was safety, he was love, he hadn't ever left me, not without force. He protected me, he took care of me, always took care of me. To have him back... it just, it made me feel _safe,_ like I could get through this, that I could sleep without fear of being hurt. He'd watch over me, and make sure I wasn't hurt.

I didn't wake for hours, not until the next day, when the doctors came along to give me another check over. They deemed that I was doing well, and let me try some breakfast. It was a simple omelette, but it was better than nothing, better than literally being starved, save for one meal a day. I was _starving,_ hadn't realised how hungry I was until I was presented with food. The egg tasted _heavenly,_ best thing I had eaten in _months,_ by a long shot. It stayed down too, the doctors were worried that it wouldn't, but it did, which made everyone breathe a sigh of relief.

"You're doing a lot better than we expected, which is fantastic news, we'll be keeping an eye on you for a while longer, but if all goes well, you should be allowed home soon." The doctor was explaining with another soft smile.

"Thank you, that's great news." Harry answered.

"As I said, it's a lot better than we were expecting. I think it was the bruising that threw us off, it made everything look a lot worse than it was. But now that's gone down, and you're awake, we can really see the damage and how you're really doing." she explained, "Do you have any questions?"

"Actually, I'd like to have a quick word, if that's alright." Harry stood up, oh God.

There was only one real problem right now... I couldn't face being alone. I really, really could not face being alone. I couldn't stand being left alone for even a second, not completely by myself. I panicked whenever it looked like I was going to be left alone, I couldn't take it, couldn't take the _thought_ of being alone, let alone anything else. Being alone meant isolation, meant that I was unprotected, meant that _I had no idea when someone was going to come back._ The thought of being alone like that again made my stomach churn.

It made me cling on to Harry as much as possible. It was _humiliating_ in a lot of ways, being reduced to clinging to my boyfriend because I was scared to be _alone_ for five minutes. He couldn't even look at the door without me getting scared. I didn't want to be like this, didn't want to be so scared, but I couldn't help it. I'd be alone for so long, I couldn't take the idea of being left like that again. I never wanted to be alone again, never, ever wanted to be alone again. The thought was terrifying; I couldn't take that again, not after that cell, never again after that cell.

So as I watched him walk out the door, I fought to stay calm, to keep everything under control, but it was so hard, so damn hard. I wanted to panic, wanted to call out to him, get him back, get him to come back and hold me close, promise to hold me forever. But I couldn't, I had to let him leave, even if it was just for a couple of minutes. I couldn't cling, couldn't stop him forever. No matter how much I wanted to.


	147. Chapter 147

145 Harry's POV

"Doctor," I stopped the woman from leaving, "When's the shrink coming to check Dougie out? He's, he isn't... I'm worried for him." I explained as quietly as I could, so Dougie didn't hear me.

I didn't want him to hear me talking about this, because I didn't want to worry him more than he already was. I could tell that he was scared, and was having a few problems. That was evident just from his reaction to me even stepping out of the room, glancing back in, he looked too worried. He was _scared,_ trying to look like he wasn't, but he definitely was.

"How so?" the doctor asked.

"He, he doesn't like me leaving him. Obviously, that makes sense given what he went through, but I can't... he doesn't even like me closing the _door,_ even when I'm with him, let alone if I so much go as far as this door." I felt like I was betraying him by saying this, but I had to tell _someone_ so they could fix things, or at least _start_ to fix things.

"Ah, I can see why you're worried. I'll find out when the psychiatrist is coming, it should be at some point today. He'll check Dougie over, see what's going on in his head, and do his best to help him." she explained, at least looking sympathetic to me.

"How? How do you even... Where can you even _start_ with something like this?" I didn't have a _clue_ where someone started with this.

Dougie had been held in a God damn _cell_ under our mansion for weeks on end, completely isolated, barely spoken to and _beaten_ for my mistakes. That was enough to screw anyone up, but Dougie already had issues with anxiety, this could affect him more than others. At the moment he seemed mostly okay, but he was so good at hiding his emotions and thoughts.

And how the _hell_ was this shrink supposed to help? Where could he start? And what could he do to help? I didn't have a clue on what he was going to do, I wasn't about to stop him coming though, but I doubted that anything good was going to come from it.

"Don't worry Harry, our psychiatrists are very good, and we are sending our resident psychiatrist who has been trained in helping people in Dougie's situation. He'll know what to do with him, don't worry." The doctor put her hand on my shoulder, squeezing it, "Now, are you okay? You look like you could use someone to talk to."

"I'm fine. Nothing that going home and going back to normal won't fix." I was fine, didn't need to _talk_ or anything either. I'd do just fine by myself, once we were home, and Dougie was happy again, I'd be fine.

"Are you sure?" the doctor insisted.

"I'm fine, honestly. Don't worry about me, help him instead, he's the one who needs it." I looked back, chewing on my lip.

"Alright, but if you change your mind, do not hesitate to ask. We can give you the number of several very good psychiatrists, they're very good listeners." The doctor smiled reassuringly.

"Thanks, but I don't think it'll be needed. I'll be fine... I should get back to him though, thanks, for all the help." I sighed, trying to look relaxed, not like I was trying not to hug myself.

"Just doing my job." the doctor shrugged, "I'll be back with the psychiatrist later. If you have any questions for him, you can ask him too, he knows more about psychology than I do and will be able to give you better answers."

"Thanks, I'll keep that in mind." I flashed a smile, going back into the hospital room, sitting on the edge of the bed, allowing Dougie to curl into my arms.

He pretended that he wasn't clinging to me harder than before, and I wasn't about to point it out. Instead, I pulled him closer too, holding on tight, like I could hold him all together and not let him fall apart. He couldn't fall apart, not after everything we'd been through, he couldn't fall apart and suffer more. He had to be happy now, he deserved happiness and freedom, I wanted that for him, more than anything else.


	148. Chapter 148

146 Dougie's POV

I didn't want to force Harry to stay with me, or react like I did to even the idea of him leaving me, but I couldn't help it. I was so scared, I couldn't... it... I'd been in the dark for so long, and so damn lonely. I couldn't be alone like that again; I couldn't stand even the idea of being alone like that for one more _second,_ let alone any longer than that. There was... I couldn't do that.

I didn't feel safe, not by myself. Not right now. I needed someone, I needed Harry, I needed, I needed to know that both of us were safe. I couldn't be separated from him, not anymore. It was just... I'd been so alone; I'd been so damn _alone._ I couldn't take it anymore, I needed him, I need him more than anything or anyone else. Being with Harry felt safe and secure, like nothing could hurt me anymore. There was nothing I wanted more than to not be hurt by anyone ever again.

"Harry, can you... can you talk to me? Please, can you talk to me?" I needed someone to talk to me; I needed him to say things.

"Of course, what would you like me to say?" Harry asked, his fingers trailing up and down my back gently.

"Anything." anything at all would have been good. Anything.

"Alright, well... the doctor I was just talking to say that the shrink is coming today to talk to you." Harry started, "I'm not sure when he's coming, but he's coming sometime today."

"What is he talking to me about?" I hadn't been told what the shrink was talking to me about.

"He's talking to you about what happened at my parent's house, and is going to help you process it all." Harry explained.

"Will you stay with me?" I didn't want Harry to leave me, not with a stranger. That was worse than being alone, who knew what a _stranger_ do? _Especially_ a psychiatrist!

"I don't know if I'll be allowed to, if I can be, I will, if not, I'll be just outside." Harry answered... that, that wasn't good!

I didn't want Harry to leave me alone! It wasn't... it didn't feel safe! I didn't feel safe without Harry! I couldn't... no!

"O-Okay." I forced myself to not panic, it would be _fine._ I couldn't rely on Harry like this. It wouldn't be fair on him, I had to be nice. I had to be at least slightly independent; clinging to him would have been horrible for Harry. He had been through enough without having to constantly look after me.

And anyway, I didn't know what exactly would be said during a therapy session, I didn't want to force Harry into hearing it. He had seen enough of my treatment; he didn't need to hear me relive it. Or see how I reacted to it for that matter.

"Going to be okay with that?" Harry asked, gently kissing my hair.

"I'll have to be, I guess." There wasn't much else I could say to that. I had to be okay with it, it was for the best, even if I hated the idea.

"Yeah, it'll suck, but you'll feel better afterwards, I'm sure." Harry encouraged, though he still looked worried. It didn't exactly help to make me feel safe in this situation either. If Harry was worried, something was definitely wrong.

"I feel better now." I didn't, but I just wanted to _go home._ I wanted to go back to normal. I didn't want to say that though, because I didn't want to worry Harry too much, he was already looking worried, I wasn't going to make it worse.

"Just talk to him, alright? See what he says, at least. He may agree with you, or he may want to talk some more, just see." Harry told me, just as there was a knock at the door.

"I'm here to talk to a Mr Poynter?" a man stood at the door, holding a clipboard in his hands. F*ck, that was _definitely_ the psychiatrist.


	149. Chapter 149

147 Tom's POV

Our day started as it always did, getting up, showering, making some food for us all to eat, before driving down to the hospital. It was mostly done in silence, with Danny clinging to my shirt. I didn't mind, the poor boy was worried too, and we all needed some reassurance. And, if I was honest, I didn't want Danny out of my sight for long, just in case. It was a stupid need, but I gave into it, just for the moment.

Heading to Dougie's hospital room, we found Harry sitting outside. He was on the chair closest to the closed door, his leg jiggling with nerves.

"Hey, why are you sitting out here?" I asked, unsure as to why he was. Harry hadn't left Dougie's sit in _days,_ not since he arrived here. Why was he now outside?

"Doug hasn't kicked you out, has he?" Danny bit at his nail as he asked; I grabbed his hand and pulled it away.

"No, no, he's... he's in there with the shrink. He said I had to leave Dougie alone so they could talk. I came out here, so I could keep close, in case he needed me." Harry answered, continuing to bounce his leg.

"Ah," I had suspected that the shrink would say that. I'd been dreading it, scared that Dougie would freak out at having to let Harry leave, "How'd Doug take it?"

"He was scared, but he let me. I think... I have a feeling he's pretending to be alright, or trying to not be annoying or something. I think he's more scared than he's letting on." Harry glanced back at the door. There was no sound coming from inside the room, so I was guessing that it was going well in there, but at the same time, I didn't know how thick the walls were, anything could have been happening in there...

"Well that's why there's a shrink, to help him out. Hopefully he'll be able to help him to not be scared anymore." I tried to smile and act like this would turn out okay. I was _praying_ it was going to turn out okay, but I didn't know, and I was scared to find out.

Our Dougie was so young, and he was _so scared,_ I could tell he was. It was obvious to anyone who looked at him. He was scared to be alone, clung onto Harry like he was a life line, flinched when doors shut. He was _scared,_ and I feared that it would only get worse, if there wasn't an intervention. And hopefully this was the intervention he needed, a trained professional who could help him process what happened, and help him learn how to cope with the fall out.

I couldn't bear to see Dougie's little confidence shattered, or to have him scared of simple things like _being alone,_ let alone be scared to possibly leave the house or anything else.

"I hope he helps, I really do. I don't know... I don't know how else to help him. All I can do is hold him, and I don't know if that's making things worse." Harry ran his hands through his hair in frustration.

"You were giving him comfort, and making him feel safe, there is _nothing_ wrong with that, okay? You've kept him calm and made him feel safe, and that is the most important thing for him right now. You weren't making him worse, I can promise you that right now." I crouched down, holding onto Harry's hands, making him look at me.

"You think so?" Harry asked.

"I know so, Dougie needed love, and affection, and you gave it to him. He needed you, and you needed him, you did each other a lot of good. The both of you finally got to relax, and breathe again, you didn't make him worse, I'm sure of it." I promised, hoping that this psychiatrist wouldn't say otherwise. Harry needed to know that he was doing a good job too; he needed to know that he was doing the right thing by Dougie. He needed the reassurance too.

"Thank you." Harry whispered, smiling a bit.

"Not a problem." I smiled too, hugging him, "So how about we eat some of the food we brought, before Doug needs us again?" I handed our drummer a sandwich, managing to take his mind off things for a bit.

Until the door opened again, then all of us rushed to stand up, waiting for the doctor's verdict. And his face was not showing the most confidence right now.


	150. Chapter 150

148 Dougie's POV

"Dougie, my name is Doctor James Stephens, and I'm here to talk about what you've gone through, is that okay?" the doctor told me after Harry left. The door had closed behind him with a very loud click, which was not helping me relax in the slightest.

"Y-Yeah, I guess." I didn't _want_ to talk about what happened right now, if ever if I was honest. I just wanted to go home and pretend it never happened, to curl up in Harry's arms and _never_ leave again. I didn't want to _talk,_ to relive it all again. I wanted it to go away, why wasn't I allowed to make it all go away?

"Alright, and before we start, I just want to make it clear that I'm not going to force you to talk about anything, and if you want a break, I'm not going say no. If you want to stop, you just have to say the word and we will," he started, his voice was so calm and reassuring, it was almost like I _could_ trust the man, even though I didn't want to.

"O-Okay." I tried to pull my legs to my chest, wincing as my ribs protested against it.

"Great, let's get started," he went through the entire incident again with me, from the minute Harry was taken all the way through to when the ambulance arrived. He questioned me about every day in that cell, about the darkness, about the isolation, about the beatings and the threats. All of it, he asked me about _all_ of it and made me remember.

I was near tears by the end of it, feeling too over-exposed and like I had been cut open. I didn't want everybody to know what happened to me, what I'd gone through and why it hurt so much. I didn't want everybody to know about all the times I thought I was going mad, that I was too scared to sleep, that I spent curled up in a corner, trying not to scream just for some attention.

"And how do you feel now about it all? Now that you're safe and out of harm's way?" he asked, how did he think I felt?! I was scared, I was so scared and still felt so alone and I wanted Harry! I wanted him because he made me feel _safe_ and loved and like I wasn't going to be hurt again!

"Are you having nightmares?" I wasn't having nightmares, or flashbacks, or anything. I just, I just felt _fear,_ all the time. I was just so _scared._ I wanted to go home; I wanted so badly to go home and to stay there for a while. I wanted to go home and be normal, with none of this happening around me, where I could pretend that this hadn't happened. I didn't want it to have happened; I wanted to pretend that it was all a very, very bad dream. I couldn't... this wasn't how things were supposed to have happened. I was supposed to have rescued Harry, and we were supposed to have run away together. Not this, anything but _this._

"How do you feel when Harry leaves you alone?" I couldn't... there wasn't a way to _explain_ it. I was scared, scared for him, scared for me. I was... I didn't want him to leave, because I didn't know who would be coming in while he wasn't here, and what they'd do to me. And I didn't know what would happen to _him_ while he was away.

The last time, the last time I'd let him out of my sight like this, he'd been taken by his parents. I couldn't... I couldn't let that happen again. It wasn't... I couldn't _let him be taken_ like that again, not so suddenly, not after an argument, not after anything like that. I couldn't watch him leave, and then discover that he was gone again. I couldn't take it, it wasn't right, I wasn't... I just _couldn't do it._

"I, I can't let him be hurt again. He can't leave like that. He'll... he'll never come back again." the doctor didn't look like he understood, but I did, I understood. I couldn't let my Harry go again, and leave him out there to someone to take him away! I didn't care if Harry's parents were arrested, or going to prison, someone else could still be trying to get hold of him! I was still so scared that he was going to be taken from me, even when I could see the outline of his head in the window, I needed him in my sight, I needed to know that he was _safe._

I couldn't do that if he was too far away, or out of my sight. He needed to be close, so I knew he was safe. That was all I wanted to know, to know that he was _safe._


	151. Chapter 151

149 Harry's POV

We all stood as the doctor emerged from the room, though my stomach stayed on the chair with dread. What was this doctor going to say about my Dougie? Was he going to say that he was going utterly mad? That he was never going to recover from this? That he needed intense therapy, possibly having to stay in some facility? Was he never going to be allowed out again?

No, no, _breathe_ Harry, breathe, none of that was going to happen. Dougie was fine; he was clingy, but fine. That was all, just a bit clingy, nothing wrong with clingy. Could be sorted easily enough, he could be fixed easily enough. He just, he just needed time, maybe a bit of therapy with a doctor, that was all. That would be all he needed, then he would be right as rain again, I was sure of it.

He would just need that bit of therapy, right?

"Is he okay?" I asked, breaking my thoughts before they could get any worse.

"In my professional opinion, Dougie's doing a lot better than first thought. He's processing his ordeal well in a lot of areas, though there are still some things I'm concerned about. But all in all, he's reacting as he should be, and isn't showing signs of intense trauma." The doctor explained, I let out the breath I was holding, that was a good sign. No signs of intense trauma, processing well, that was good.

"So he's okay then?" that had to mean that he was okay, that he was _going_ to be okay, right?

"Well for the most part yes, but I would like to have a few more sessions with him, to see if I can get to the bottom of a few of his new behaviours. I can do it as outpatient therapy, so as soon as the doctors around here say that Dougie's ready to go home, I don't see any issue with allowing him home." Oh thank God, thank _God._

"Thank you, thank you so much. I've been so worried, _thank you._ " I'd been so _scared_ of what this doctor would say, what he thought would be the best treatment for Dougie. I'd been terrified that he'd say he had to take Dougie away from me; I couldn't stand the thought of having him being taken from me again. Not after this, never, ever again after all of this.

"Don't thank me; you have an incredibly strong boy in there, who's a lot tougher than he looks." The doctor smiled again, "Though, may I speak with you Harry for a moment?" that didn't sound good, that didn't sound good _at all._

"Erm, yeah, yeah, alright." I couldn't refuse though, could I? What if it was important, what if there was something this man wasn't telling us? But why would he tell me, and not Dougie's mum? She was in charge of her son's medical care still, why wasn't he talking to her instead?

"We'll go in and see Doug." Tom clapped a reassuring hand on my shoulder.

"Er, thanks, I'll only be a minute," I glanced at the doctor, who nodded in agreement.

Tom and Danny made their way into the hospital room, leaving me and Doctor Stephens in the hallway, alone save for the nurses wandering up and down the corridor.

"Erm, what's up?" I tried to be casual, acting like I wasn't trying desperately to calm down my pounding heart.

"I understand that Dougie wasn't the only one who has been through a traumatic experience recently. You were at the scene of the attack, and it was one of your family members who caused it, if my understanding is correct." He looked incredibly concerned as he said it, using the same voice I imagined he used on Dougie.

"Yeah, erm, it was by Dad, who caused the attack." Caused and carried out _twice_ in fact.

"I can imagine that that was a very traumatic experience, watching your father beat the man you love, are you doing okay in light of the event?" was that the nice way of saying 'are you now traumatised because your dad's a psycho who beat up your boyfriend simply because you're together'? If so, it still didn't exactly sound very nice!

"I'm fine, as long as Dougie's okay." I was, honestly, I just needed him to be okay and for us all to go home. I'd be fine then.

"Are you sure? You were kept captive in that house for a very long time, and being forced to watch something like that must have been a terrible thing to witness." He pushed again, I was fine damn it!

"Its fine, I'm fine. It was a horrible event, and completely screwed up on many levels, but its fine. It's not like I didn't have _warning_ over it, I knew it was inevitable. But it's over now, and Dougie's healing, and that's all that matters." And as soon as we went home, we could put this all behind us and _move the hell on._

"Harry, you do know that it's okay to be affected by this, right? You don't have to remain stoic and strong like this all the time, Dougie's not going to fall apart if you show even the slightest hint of being affected by this." the doctor put his hand on my shoulder.

"I know that, I'm just fine. I'm not remaining stoic because I had to, it's because I am feeling stoic, alright? I'm not traumatised, I'm not anything." I may have lied a little there, I had to be strong here because _I was the strong one,_ I was always the strong one. Dougie needed me to be the strong one, so he could feel safe. Letting him see me as anything but the strong one wouldn't end well. I'd be fine in the end, once this was all over.

"Alright, if you say so. But, I'm going to schedule an appointment, so you can talk to me if you want it. It'll be next Saturday, at 1pm, during visiting hours so Dougie has someone with him. You don't have to come along, but if you want to talk about anything, _anything_ at all, please do not hesitate to find me, okay?" the doctor wasn't ordering, and wasn't pushing all that hard.

"I don't need to talk though." I honestly didn't.

"Okay, but if you want to talk the opportunity, it's open to you." The doctor parted with one last pat on the shoulder.

I was fine though; I didn't need to talk to anybody... did I?


	152. Chapter 152

150 Dougie's POV

Even with Tom and Danny in the room, I felt too nervous to relax. Harry could get into all sorts of trouble outside! Who knew what that doctor wanted? He could have been taken from me, or been hurt, or anything! I didn't know! I didn't know what was happening to him!

"He'll be back soon Doug, he's not going to disappear again." Tom held my hand, careful of the cast.

"I know, I know." I breathed, I _knew_ he was safe. Harry was safe, he wasn't going to disappear, but it felt like he could at any point! I was so _scared_ that he was going to be taken from me at any moment, even when I _knew_ that the danger was over! Everyone had been arrested; it had all been sorted out. I was fine, I was _fine._

"It's just a conversation, nothing more." Danny smiled faintly.

"Yeah, I know, I know I, I..." I breathed, forcing myself to calm down.

"He's fine, I promise Dougie." Tom kept on encouraging me until Harry came back. Though he looked worried, I was still so much calmer when he was back in the room, I could see that he was safe and wasn't about to be taken from me.

But he did look worried, and he wouldn't tell me what was wrong, he just said that he was thinking. Thinking about what though?! He wasn't saying what was on his mind! What had that doctor said to him?!

"Harry please, what did he say to you?" I asked, stroking his face after everyone had left.

"Nothing, I just... its fine, okay?" Harry chewed on his lip, lifting his feet to rest against the side of the bed.

"It's not, you've been worried all day, so what's wrong?" I wanted to help him, wanting to know what was wrong. He had been through enough; I didn't want him worried now.

"I just... the doctor thinks... he thinks I need to talk to someone. About what happened. Do you think I need to?" Harry couldn't look at me as he said it, looking away to his bent knees.

"Erm, it may help. If you talk to someone, cause that was... it was a bad thing to go through." I wasn't sure what to say. Harry was usually the strong one, and he was holding up so well at the moment. I didn't know how much Harry was hiding from me, how much he was pretending to be okay about. He wouldn't talk to me about it either, so he didn't worry me, maybe talking to someone would help him...

"Yeah, but I feel fine, seriously, I'm fine." Harry didn't look convinced.

"Are you sure about that? Cause you were, you went through hell." He had been trapped in that house for _months,_ betrayed by his family too. That had to be terrible.

"I went through a difficult time, you went through hell." Harry argued, but softly.

"You did too; your dad _hit_ you, and made you feel like you weren't good enough for him. That's not okay. It had to have an effect on you." I argued back, because if Harry was affected by it, he needed to _talk_ to someone and learn how to move on.

"But I can sort it out by myself." Harry's voice was weak.

"Just go once, see if he can help. If he can, then keep on going, if he can't, then we'll figure that out." I told him, Harry still looked reluctant, "I'll talk to him if you will." It was a low blow, but if it meant that he would listen and go, I was willing to surrender too. Even if it would be terrible to remember, and make me feel pathetic and stupid every session. If it made me want to tear my own skin off, and was in general terrible, I'd do it. If it meant that Harry would go too and sort himself out, he may have been strong, but if he needed help, he _needed_ to get himself sorted.

"Fine. I'll go." Harry gave in, sighing loudly as he did so.

"Thank you." I smiled, kissing him gently, as a reward, and because it had been so _long._ We hadn't been close in so long, I wanted to feel close to him again.


	153. Chapter 153

151 Harry's POV

Even though I agreed to go to see the psychiatrist, it didn't mean that I actually _wanted_ to go. I wanted to run and hide from the man in fact. I _hated_ the idea of talking to someone about what happened, hated the idea of even daring to think about it all again. What would remembering and talking about it achieve for me exactly? It would just upset me again; make me remember those _horrible_ days of isolation, the fear for Dougie's wellbeing, the hope of seeing Hayley again, so there was someone kind around.

Why would I want to remember that? Why couldn't I just pretend it didn't happen and move on? Go home with Dougie, drive him to his appointments and just pretend that life was carrying on like normal. That was what felt right to me, couldn't I do that instead?

Then again, was that being hypocritical? I wanted Dougie to go and talk to the psychiatrist, even though he didn't want to, because I thought it would help him. So was I going being two faced about it all, refusing to go myself, but wanting Dougie to go? But Dougie had more trauma than I did, I was just threatened a lot, Dougie was put in the _hospital_ by my Dad, had been beaten so badly he had broken bones. How could I need therapy, when nothing had happened to me, not compared to Dougie's experience?

The thoughts swirled through my head as I lay in the hospital bed, Dougie's head resting on my chest. I was going, to make sure Dougie got the help he needed, but I doubted that I needed it. Or that it would be of any use to me.

Maybe I'd go and it would be a bit of talking, and the guy would say that I was perfectly fine and let me go. He would probably do that, yeah. Say that I was utterly fine and not make me come back again. That would be all, surely. And Dougie couldn't say anything about that, because I had been proven to be fine. Yeah, that would happen, and it would be fine. It would all be fine. It would be fine, right?

I eventually managed to fall asleep, sleeping through without nightmares (that was a sign that I was fine, wasn't it?), going about the usual routine. Getting up, helping Dougie get to the bathroom so we could both wash as best we could, getting us both dressed (pyjamas for Dougie, jeans and t-shirt for me), eating breakfast, and keeping us entertained until Tom and Danny arrived.

As always, we talked and hung out. Tom had brought his portable DVD player, so we could watch a film together. It was nice, I guessed. Made it feel like we were back at home again in a way. I hadn't been home in... God, I had no idea how long anymore. Painfully long. Such a long time I could barely remember what everything looked like. Were all the posters still up where they were originally? Did the doors in the kitchen still squeak when they were opened? Was the fridge still covered in magnets?

I was desperate to go home, desperate to be safe and back there again. Back where it was quiet and filled with the things we loved, surrounded by loving people. Where I was allowed to do as I wanted. If I wanted to eat cereal out of the box in my underwear, I could. If I wanted to sleep until midday, I could. If I wanted to love who I loved, I could. And _nobody_ would judge me; I would be encouraged, or at least joined by at least one of the others. I wanted that back desperately; I had missed home so much it was almost painful. Our house was _safe;_ it didn't feel quite safe in this hospital, even surrounded by doctors and nurses. The hospital ward was unfamiliar, at least at home we knew the best hiding spots, and the best places we could defend ourselves.

At least Tom and Danny were here, and Sam dropped in after work every day, so we weren't alone. Without them, I think we would have both needed therapists, thanks to going stir crazy or something.

Just as I thought that, there was a knock at the door, a _very_ familiar face popping through.

"Sorry to interrupt, but do you mind if I come in for a minute?" Hayley asked.


	154. Chapter 154

152 Dougie's POV

"Hayley! What are you doing here?" Harry immediately stood up at the sight of the woman, though didn't move closer.

"I came to check on you two, after everything that happened, I wanted to know that you were alright. Is it okay if I step in for a minute?" Hayley smiled, she looked exactly the same as she did at the mansion, though she was definitely a lot happier. There weren't tight lines of stress around her eyes, and she was definitely more relaxed, despite the fact that she was clearly nervous, hovering at the door.

"Erm, yeah, sure, if it's alright with you Doug?" Harry turned to me, squeezing my hand. I nodded, I trusted Hayley, she had _always_ been kind. Even when she had to be mean, she had always been gentle. She had kept our secrets, passing messages between Harry and I when we couldn't talk. I liked the woman; she had made my time in captivity slightly bearable. I'd always been thankful for that.

"Then come on in. Tom, Danny, this is Hayley. She was the doctor at the mansion, who helped us both when we needed it most. She passed messages between Dougie and I, and treated us when we needed her to." Harry explained, the confused looks on Tom and Danny's faces receding.

"Ah, you're the band mates I've heard so much about, it's a pleasure to meet you." Hayley stepped forward, hand outstretched.

"Pleasure is all ours. It sounds like you kept our boys alive and as safe as possible, for that we'll forever be thankful." Tom grinned, shaking her hand first.

"Just doing my duty as a doctor." Hayley shrugged, "How, how bad was the damage?" she turned to me, noting the cast on my wrist.

"A few broken bones, a bit of dehydration, but nothing life threatening, and no permanent damage." Harry stroked my hair, hand sliding down to rest on my shoulder protectively.

"Oh thank God, I mean, it's terrible that you got injured in the first place, but thank _God_ that it was nothing life threatening. I was so scared that you dad wasn't going to stop, and I wouldn't be able to live with myself if he'd seriously hurt you, or worse." Hayley sighed in relief.

"Yeah, I wouldn't have either. I'm so glad the ambulance was phoned when it was." Harry's hold on my tightened, pulling me closer to his chest.

The support was appreciated, I didn't exactly like talking about what happened that night, thinking about it filled me with fear. My injuries aching more than usual in the memory of that night.

"So am I, I ran to that phone as soon as I could. I realised that it wasn't going to stop, and I couldn't stand by and watch it continue. I had to do something, and it was the only thing I could think of." Hayley sighed, wait...

"You were the one who phoned for the ambulance?" I hadn't, I didn't think that Hayley had done it...

"Of course, who else was going to do it? Everybody was either completely ignoring what was going on downstairs, or was downstairs with you. It was the perfect opportunity to get the police, and stop all of this for once and for all." Hayley answered, that made so much sense. Of course it was Hayley! Nobody else in that house cared about what was happening to Harry and I, Hayley cared!

"But I thought you said you couldn't risk your job?" Harry asked.

"Well, I said that, but I _couldn't_ let that continue. The police were now suspicious, and that night, the police would catch your dad in the act of abusing Dougie, therefore it would be a case of just needing to go job hunting again, instead of being blacklisted by your parents." Hayley explained, "It was a slight risk, but it was worth it. I don't regret it for a minute, because the two of you got out. You got out, and you're now safe and together again."

"And we cannot be more thankful for that." Harry looked as emotional as I felt.

I was overcome with emotion, so thankful that Hayley had helped us for so long, that she had _saved_ us. She had actually _saved_ us, had gotten us out of that hell hole, had stopped the attack. Hayley saved my _life._

"Thank you, thank you _so much._ " I leant over and hugged her with all the strength I had. It wasn't enough to say how much Hayley had done for us, for me, and how much I loved her for it. She had done more than I ever thought she could, or would. She had defied orders, had risked her job and her life, and had gotten us out. I would never be able to repay her for that.


	155. Chapter 155

153 Tom's POV

Dougie's reaction to Hayley's confession wasn't exactly unexpected. What was unexpected was that Hayley was the one who saved Harry and Dougie. Somehow, I hadn't thought of Hayley as being the one to phone the police. Maybe because I'd never met her, maybe because I hadn't thought that much about it. But somehow, I really had not thought that anybody in the Judd household would have put the call into the police to save our boys.

But my God, I was thankful for it, so damn thankful. Without her, Harry and Dougie wouldn't be here. They could have possibly have been _dead,_ and that was something I never wanted to consider happening. But really, without her, they would have been six feet under, and that would have been _unbearable._

"Honestly, thank you so much for helping. We can't ever repay you for this." I smiled at the woman, after Dougie had let her go.

"It's nothing, honestly. I couldn't sit back and watch this happen to them, these boys didn't deserve it in the slightest. Nobody does, but especially these two." Hayley ruffled our drummer and bassist's hair, making them both smile.

Their smiles were so rare; it was beautiful to see again. It was like seeing the sun coming out after months without it, I wanted to soak in their smiles, keep them going forever. If anybody deserved it, it was Harry and Dougie.

"Still though, if it weren't for you, we wouldn't have our boys. We're like brothers; not having them would be... we'd be lost." Danny was looking at Hayley like she'd cured the world of every disease going.

"We really would. And we had no other way to save them ourselves, our last attempt lost us Dougie to that house, without you, we'd had never have gotten them back." I couldn't thank her enough, couldn't stop thanking her in fact. She had to know just how much she had done for us, just how thankful I was for her actions.

"It was nothing, honestly. I was just doing the right thing." Hayley waved us off. I could tell that all of us were in awe of her, and her bravery. She risked her job, landing herself in trouble with either Harry's parents or the law. Hayley was _amazing._

"I'm just glad you guys are okay, and that you're reunited with your friends again. But now I really need to make a move I'm afraid." Hayley sighed, picking up her coat.

"Wait, why do you have to leave?" Harry asked.

"I'm afraid that because of my involvement in sending down your dad, I've been blacklisted from most families. So I'm now looking into working for hospitals, and other places like that, see if anybody wants to hire me." Hayley sighed, "Shame really, I quite liked being a family doctor. I mostly got to read all day; your family were surprisingly agile and didn't get ill that often."

"Oh, sorry to hear that." Dougie chewed on his lip, guilt crossing his face.

"It's alright, I knew it would happen, I was prepared for this eventuality." Hayley shrugged, "It was worth it anyway, getting you two out was more important than saving my job."

She got up and turned to leave, heading towards the door. But, wait a minute, maybe there was a way we could repay her...

"Come work for us." I called out to her, getting everyone's attention.

"I'm sorry?" Hayley looked confused.

"Come work for us, at our house. Doug probably needs some looking after when we go home, and Danny and Harry are really accident prone, and I get a lot of colds and stuff. We could do with an in-house doctor for ourselves." I explained, hoping she agreed.

"Oh I couldn't possibly-" Hayley started to protest.

"It wouldn't be imposing or anything. Tom's right, we could do with an in-house doctor." Harry agreed, "It's the least we can do too, as a thank you for saving us."

"Are you sure?" Hayley asked.

"Of course!" Danny nodded frantically.

"Definitely!" Dougie agreed.

All of us were agreement; we wanted Hayley to work for us. She cared about us, she was a great doctor from what we'd heard of her, and she was easy to get along with. She'd be a perfect fit for us, and if we hired her, she didn't have to go looking for another. It was the least we could do as a thank you for helping us.

"Okay, if you're sure." Hayley gave in.


	156. Chapter 156

154 Harry's POV

All too soon, Dougie's first 'real' therapy session rolled round, and he coped really well. I wasn't allowed in the room at the time, and it was _horrible_ to be left out, scared of what was going on in there, but our shrink was insistent. Dougie coped well enough, which was a God send really. He was nervous, and a bit upset, but he pushed through as best he could. If he was little clingy to me afterwards, and had clearly been very upset during the session, then I didn't mention it. Not unless he did. If he said nothing, then I wasn't going to force it. He _had_ to want to talk to me; I wasn't going to be another psychiatrist for him. I was his comfort, not his shrink.

But as that happened, it soon became apparent that it would be _my_ therapy session next. And I was _not_ looking forward to it in the slightest. It was... I just didn't want to face it. I'd promised Dougie I'd go though, but I _really_ didn't want to. There was nothing to talk about, I was fine. Utterly fine. Didn't need it. I was sunshine and rainbows in my head, didn't need a shrink.

But I'd promised Dougie I would. And I couldn't break that promise to him. He'd done _so_ well with his session; I couldn't let him down and not go to mine. After everything that had happened, this was the least I could do. Especially as it gave him peace of mind, if he thought that I was okay, then he had one less thing to worry about, and that would help him. So I had to go, to give him one less thing to worry about.

That didn't stop me dreading this meeting though. I didn't want to go. I didn't want to see the shrink, talk about what happened and how I felt about it. Quite frankly, I just wanted to run and hide from him. Because the idea of _talking_ about what happened sounded ludicrous. Bad things had happened, Hayley had gotten us out, we were safe now. That was it, it didn't need talking about!

"Harry, your _parents_ kidnapped you and forced you to be someone you didn't want to be. That alone can cause all types of psychological scars, let alone seeing what you saw in that basement." The shrink levelled me with a hard stare; I tried to stop myself from flinching. I failed.

"But it's _over_ now, I don't have to live it again, I can move on by myself." Really, I could. I was managing perfectly well. No nightmares, no ill effects, no complexes. I felt exactly as I was before!

"I know you feel that way, but are you _sure?_ It was a terrible few months, things like that don't just stop affecting you." Doctor Stephens somehow looked soft and trusting underneath the stare, but I knew that he didn't believe me for a _second._

"Why don't you tell me about what it was like in the house? No shrinking or anything, just tell me, what was life like?" he tried a new approach.

"It was, it just... it wasn't very nice. I kinda... everything was a bit... strict." I didn't know how to explain it, how did you explain being held captive by your parents, while your boyfriend was threatened for every wrong move you made?

"I couldn't... everything was taken from me, I had to act like they did, dress like they did, talk like they did. One wrong move and Dad got... well at first he just hit me, then when Dougie tried to rescue me, he was then hurt. Every time I so much as looked like I was being rebellious, even when I wasn't, Dougie was threatened. Nobody tried to help us, apart from Hayley, and everything was so tense, so damn _frightening,_ I, I didn't think we'd make it out alive." I was sure one of us was going to die. I'd been sure that I'd never see Dougie again.

"A-And on that final night, when it all went wrong, I was _so_ sure that Dougie was going to die. I was... I was sure I was going to lose him and it was going to be all my fault because I didn't protect him well enough. I, I thought our last ever conversation was going to be the argument we had at the TV studio, over a _fake boyfriend_ to cover up who we are. I couldn't, I couldn't _stand_ to think of that as our last conversation, that he was going to die this way, all because of an argument and my parents not understanding love and affection. It was... I couldn't... I nearly watched him _die_ and it was all my fault!" I started crying, unable to stop once I started. Just remembering all those thoughts, all those feelings, all that _fear,_ I couldn't.

I'd thought I was going to watch Dougie die, and I couldn't deal with it. I couldn't deal with the idea of him dying because of me. It wasn't... not because of this. Not because of love. Or a stupid mistake. Or anything.

"He's nineteen years old. That's no age. He can't... this wasn't supposed to happen, and now I don't know what's going to happen to him because of this." I whispered, curling myself up on the sofa.

"How do you mean?" Stephens asked.

"I, I don't want Dougie to _lose it,_ or be changed forever because of this. He's, he's nineteen years old, he shouldn't have nearly _died_ for love. I, I... I love him so much, and I don't want him to be traumatised forever because of our love."


	157. Chapter 157

155 Dougie's POV

Harry came back from therapy after a worryingly long time, looking like death warmed up. He had clearly been crying, and the way he looked at me spoke of just what he'd been talking about in therapy. His arms wrapped around me the second they could, and held on for dear life, which I didn't begrudge him of. I'd been so worried for him too, so scared of just what he was doing in that session, having him back in (mostly) one piece was a relief.

And, to be honest, my own therapy sessions were just as fun filled. I talked with Doctor Stephens about what happened to me a lot, and how I felt now compared to how I did before all this happened. He taught me breathing exercises, and how to keep calm when Harry had to leave for various reasons. The man was obsessed with trying to sort out my separation anxiety, and it had varying degrees of success.

Harry at therapy I could mostly handle, Harry wandering off to have lunch in the canteen I couldn't. I don't know, just the _thought_ of him going somewhere unprotected like that was terrifying. I couldn't... I just couldn't stand the thought of him going that far away without supervision, being out in the open, ready to be stolen from me again at any moment.

It was hell, watching, waiting for something to happen. Even when nothing ever did, and I _knew_ that nothing would happen now, I still got scared. Every single time he left me for some reason, it was terrifying. I tried my best to cope, but I wasn't sure how well I was doing. I mean, I wasn't having full out _panic attacks,_ but the whole time I was without him, I couldn't help but feel so worried about him. All my thoughts were consumed with Harry, where he was, was he safe, could anybody be a threat to him out there? The thoughts whirled through my head until he was back with me again. Every single time.

Still though, the therapist thought that I was safe to go home, so I was discharged within the week, with orders to come back to see Doctor Stephens once a week, and for Harry to do the same. He wanted to keep an eye on us both for a while, to make sure that we were adjusting back to home and safety again. We accepted, if not just to be allowed home again. It had been _so long_ since I had stepped foot in our house, I missed it so much I couldn't stand it. I wanted to go home; I wanted to _stay_ at home from now on. Forever.

"Welcome home boys! We've kept everything how you left it in your room. The only thing we've done is looked after your lizards Doug." Tom was explaining as we stepped out the car, but I wasn't paying much attention.

I was too busy looking up at our house, taking it all back in again. Seeing our imperfect, averagely sized, comfy and messy house. A house of safety. Where we could be free together. I could roam free here; nobody was going to hurt me for anybody else's mistakes. Harry could do what he wanted, wear what he wanted, be who he wanted to be, all without worrying about how his parents were going to react to him.

There were no rules, no guards, no cells. Just friendship, family, love. And most importantly, there was acceptance here. Unreserved acceptance, from everyone.

It was _home._

The sight brought a tear to my eye, and caused Harry to pull me close to himself, his own body shaking with relief.

"We're home Harry, we made it home." I breathed against his chest, still barely able to believe it. after weeks stuck in that cell, terrified and alone, now I was _here,_ with the people I loved most, in the house I felt safe in. It was... I couldn't believe it.

"We did, we made it home Doug. We're safe. I promise you, we're safe." Harry grinned, squeezing me so tight I could hardly breathe.

"Want to come inside? Fletch has stocked the kitchen full of all your favourites, though we were thinking of maybe getting a takeaway." Danny asked, two of our bags from the hospital in his hands.

"Anything is better than what we were given in that house." Harry answered, it really was. I was happy with anything, anything at all. As long as it was in _that house_ with these people.

"I'll get the menus out!" Tom grinned, dragging the last of our bags inside.

"Ready?" Harry asked, gently tugging on my arm.

"More than anything." I nodded, heading towards our house for the first time in forever.


	158. Chapter 158

156 Danny's POV

Harry and Dougie ran into the house, racing through every room in excitement. Tom and I let them, happy to watch them remember everything in the house and make themselves home. It had been too long, _far_ too long, since they'd both been in this house. It had been even longer since they could enjoy themselves and not worry about anything.

It was amazing to watch them now, to see their faces light up, see them so relaxed. I couldn't even remember the last time I'd seen Dougie look so relaxed, or seen Harry smile like that. It was like they'd both been set free, and they were finally allowing themselves to be happy again.

Eventually, the two of them fell onto the sofas in the front room, putting their feet up on the tables and making themselves comfy. I could tell that Harry at the least was making the most of it, dropping every social rule that had been drummed into his head recently, forgetting everything about decency and whatever else his parents had told him. Dougie on the other hand seemed to just be enjoying sitting on a sofa again, instead of a lumpy hospital bed, or the cold, hard floor. Tom ordered us all several pizzas, all of us eating far too much. Dougie gave himself stomach ache he ate so many slices. But he didn't moan or complain, he still looked so _happy._

I couldn't imagine how bad his time in that cell had been, being forced to sit in the dark, given scraps and being beaten. It must have felt incredible to be home, to be safe, and allowed to do whatever he liked. The same must have applied to Harry too. Being allowed to finally be allowed to dress, say, and do whatever he wanted must have felt _so_ good.

It felt great enough to have them _back_ in the house. The house had been quiet for so long, with just me and Tom inside it. It wasn't the same; _we_ weren't the same unless it was all four of us. We were a unit, to be without one, let alone _two,_ of us was awful. Our house had been empty, _I_ had felt empty. It had all been so lonely and empty without them here. And now they were _back,_ together with us, the four of us as an unstoppable team again.

An unstoppable team without judgmental parents hanging over our heads. God, that felt good to think about. To be _free_ of judgemental parents, parents who would stop at _nothing_ to keep us apart, to keep their family name safe. We were safe now though. Completely safe. Harry's parents were getting jailed as we sat here, they didn't have a leg to stand on in their defence. They were going to go away for a long time, and we weren't going to have to deal with them.

We were free. Actually free. I couldn't believe it.

"We're going to be okay from now on, aren't we?" I asked Tom in a whisper that night.

"Of course. Everyone is home and safe, we don't have anybody after us, everybody is getting the help they need to cope with what happened." Tom sighed, "It's going to be back to how it should be."

"I hope so. It's been... I can't lose them again. It wouldn't... I just _can't_ lose them again." I couldn't deal with the idea of losing _anyone_ again. We nearly lost Harry _twice,_ Dougie nearly _died;_ we couldn't go through something like that again. Never, ever again. If it did, I didn't know how I'd cope, let alone anybody else.

"We won't. We won't lose anybody again. Nobody is going anywhere against their will, nobody else's parents has any problem with who we are, or what we do. We're safe now." Tom promised, stroking my shoulder.

"It could have happened to us." I whispered, curling closer to Tom.

"Huh?" Tom asked.

"If my dad... If he'd been angrier, had hated you more, that could have been us. We could have been taken like that." I whispered again, imagining having to escape from captivity, instead of pleading with my parents so they saw sense.

"It could have been, but it wasn't. You're parents were angry, but they've gotten over it, and they're happy with who we are now. They won't do anything like that to us." Tom pressed his face into my hair, hands tightening around me.

"I know. I just... it could have been us. And I _never_ want something like this to happen again." I couldn't handle it; I wanted us to be safe, to be happy.

"It won't, we're all safe now. Completely safe. Nobody is going to hurt us again, I promise." Tom answered, "Now go to sleep, its been a _long_ few months."

I curled closer to him, breathing him in and taking a minute to be glad that I could fall asleep, safe in the knowledge that everyone was home again.


	159. Chapter 159

156 Danny's POV

Harry and Dougie ran into the house, racing through every room in excitement. Tom and I let them, happy to watch them remember everything in the house and make themselves home. It had been too long, _far_ too long, since they'd both been in this house. It had been even longer since they could enjoy themselves and not worry about anything.

It was amazing to watch them now, to see their faces light up, see them so relaxed. I couldn't even remember the last time I'd seen Dougie look so relaxed, or seen Harry smile like that. It was like they'd both been set free, and they were finally allowing themselves to be happy again.

Eventually, the two of them fell onto the sofas in the front room, putting their feet up on the tables and making themselves comfy. I could tell that Harry at the least was making the most of it, dropping every social rule that had been drummed into his head recently, forgetting everything about decency and whatever else his parents had told him. Dougie on the other hand seemed to just be enjoying sitting on a sofa again, instead of a lumpy hospital bed, or the cold, hard floor. Tom ordered us all several pizzas, all of us eating far too much. Dougie gave himself stomach ache he ate so many slices. But he didn't moan or complain, he still looked so _happy._

I couldn't imagine how bad his time in that cell had been, being forced to sit in the dark, given scraps and being beaten. It must have felt incredible to be home, to be safe, and allowed to do whatever he liked. The same must have applied to Harry too. Being allowed to finally be allowed to dress, say, and do whatever he wanted must have felt _so_ good.

It felt great enough to have them _back_ in the house. The house had been quiet for so long, with just me and Tom inside it. It wasn't the same; _we_ weren't the same unless it was all four of us. We were a unit, to be without one, let alone _two,_ of us was awful. Our house had been empty, _I_ had felt empty. It had all been so lonely and empty without them here. And now they were _back,_ together with us, the four of us as an unstoppable team again.

An unstoppable team without judgmental parents hanging over our heads. God, that felt good to think about. To be _free_ of judgemental parents, parents who would stop at _nothing_ to keep us apart, to keep their family name safe. We were safe now though. Completely safe. Harry's parents were getting jailed as we sat here, they didn't have a leg to stand on in their defence. They were going to go away for a long time, and we weren't going to have to deal with them.

We were free. Actually free. I couldn't believe it.

"We're going to be okay from now on, aren't we?" I asked Tom in a whisper that night.

"Of course. Everyone is home and safe, we don't have anybody after us, everybody is getting the help they need to cope with what happened." Tom sighed, "It's going to be back to how it should be."

"I hope so. It's been... I can't lose them again. It wouldn't... I just _can't_ lose them again." I couldn't deal with the idea of losing _anyone_ again. We nearly lost Harry _twice,_ Dougie nearly _died;_ we couldn't go through something like that again. Never, ever again. If it did, I didn't know how I'd cope, let alone anybody else.

"We won't. We won't lose anybody again. Nobody is going anywhere against their will, nobody else's parents has any problem with who we are, or what we do. We're safe now." Tom promised, stroking my shoulder.

"It could have happened to us." I whispered, curling closer to Tom.

"Huh?" Tom asked.

"If my dad... If he'd been angrier, had hated you more, that could have been us. We could have been taken like that." I whispered again, imagining having to escape from captivity, instead of pleading with my parents so they saw sense.

"It could have been, but it wasn't. You're parents were angry, but they've gotten over it, and they're happy with who we are now. They won't do anything like that to us." Tom pressed his face into my hair, hands tightening around me.

"I know. I just... it could have been us. And I _never_ want something like this to happen again." I couldn't handle it; I wanted us to be safe, to be happy.

"It won't, we're all safe now. Completely safe. Nobody is going to hurt us again, I promise." Tom answered, "Now go to sleep, its been a _long_ few months."

I curled closer to him, breathing him in and taking a minute to be glad that I could fall asleep, safe in the knowledge that everyone was home again.


End file.
